The Greatest Power
by MasterMind 16X
Summary: In the dead of night, the Halliwells are visited by a mysterious man who claims to be omnipotent. Coincidentally, he happens to be unable to access most of his powers. What is this man, and what is he hiding? How will his existence change the course of the story? A lot, if I have anything to say about it. Set in season four, after Paige moves into the manor. T for violence.
1. Chapter 1

Yeah, so I had a random idea of a powerful/completely overpowered entity showing up in the Charmed Ones' home. Don't worry; he will definitely be limited and his powers will be blocked off or something. No Mary-Sue. This story is written pretty much on an impulse, but if people actually like it I'll keep writing it. And no, for anyone who's reading Alliance, I'll keep updating that story as well. My writing methods are rather strange; they consist of writing on impulse rather than planning anything out. As a result, my updates tend to be irregular and the story may take unexpected turns. So, with that out of the way, here is my story and disclaimer: I own nothing other than my own characters.

Chapter 1:

It was extremely early in the morning, about 1 or 2 am, when Piper was woken by a loud crash. The dark haired woman jumped out of bed, waking her husband, Leo, in the process. The Whitelighter looked up, a curious look on his face. Piper bolted out of the bedroom door and ran down to the kitchen. She looked around in the kitchen; everything seemed to be normal. She turned and jumped in shock. Her younger sister, Phoebe, was standing in the doorway. "What was that crash?" Phoebe asked.

"I don't know," Piper snapped. She then saw a faint glow, similar to a glow from Orbing. She walked over to it cautiously. What she saw was a man, about twenty five years old, laying on the floor.

"Phoebe, why is there a man in our kitchen?" Piper asked.

"I don't know, but he's cute," Phoebe replied.

"Phoebe!" Piper smacked Phoebe on the arm. The man groaned and moved. Phoebe had a point, Piper conceded. The man was cute. He had dark hair and, if he were standing, would be rather tall. Maybe six one? He also looked very muscular. Piper picked him up, figuring that if he were a demon he wouldn't have crashed so loudly and collapsed on the kitchen floor. Piper carried him into the living room and dropped him on the couch. The man stirred, but remained unconscious.

Piper then realized something. "Why aren't Paige or Leo down here? There's no way that Paige didn't wake up; she woke up last night when I turned the bathroom faucet on," Piper said. Phoebe just shrugged and sat down on one of the chairs.

"What are you doing?" Piper asked.

"Well, do you want him to wake up in our house without any of us to tell him what happened?"

"Phoebe, we don't even know what happened. We just found him lying on our kitchen floor," Piper replied.

"All the more reason to stay here until he wakes up," Phoebe said.

Piper sighed and sat down on another chair. She had been sitting for about a minute when Leo came running down the stairs. "What happened?" Leo asked.

"Took you long enough," Piper snapped.

"Sorry, I figured you would have sorted it out by now and would be back upstairs telling me what happened," Leo said.

"Yeah, well, a mysterious man showed up in our kitchen and is currently sleeping on our couch. Phoebe wants to wait for him to wake up," Piper said.

"Well, we need to found out who he is, why he was in our kitchen, and what he wants from us," Phoebe said.

"We don't even know if he wants anything with us. Maybe he's like Paige; a half Whitelighter trying to figure out how to Orb properly. And he just happened to really mess up," Piper said.

Paige then stumbled down the stairs, muttering "Why are you shouting?"

"Wait, I turned on a water faucet and you wake up, but you completely sleep through the sound of a man crash landing in our kitchen?" Piper asked.

Paige woke up a bit more. "What man?"

"The one sleeping on our couch," Phoebe said.

Paige walked to the couch, saw the man, and immediately woke up. "Whoa, he's cute!"

Phoebe grinned while Piper rolled her eyes. The man's eyes opened. He looked at Piper, then Phoebe, then Leo, and finally Paige. His eyes seemed to linger on Paige for half a second longer than on anyone else. "You're the Charmed Ones." It was a statement rather than a fact, but Piper still said yes.

"And we also want to know why you were in our kitchen," Piper asked. Paige shot her a look.

"So, I landed in the kitchen? Well, looks like the Council decided to send me to you. Figures; they always did have a rather sick sense of humor," the man said.

"What are you talking about? What council?" Piper asked.

"I'm gonna go check with the Elders and see if they have any idea what he's talking about," Leo said. Leo Orbed out.

"Yeah, like the Elders will know anything," the man said.

"What makes you so sure the Elders won't know about you?" Phoebe asked.

"How often do the Elders actually know anything useful?" the man replied.

"Well, he's got a point," Piper said. Phoebe and Paige stared at her. "What? He does."

"Well, anyway, what's your name?" Paige asked.

"My name is Jerome. And since I have a feeling that this is coming; I'm not evil," Jerome replied.

"Well, okay. I'm Paige," Paige said, "this is Phoebe," she pointed to Phoebe, "and this is Piper." Paige finished by pointing to Piper.

"I know who you are. Interfering with you three is how I wound up in the kitchen. My... leaders cast me out of my home," Jerome replied.

"What do you mean leaders?" Piper asked.

"My people are very powerful. Each one of us has every power you could ever think, and then some. However, a society this powerful must have rulers to dictate how the power is used. The Council is a group of the most powerful of my people, and they dictate the rules. I broke a few and so they banished me. And cut me off from my powers," Jerome explained.

"Wait, so they stripped your powers?" Phoebe asked.

"No, not stripped. Inhibited. They cursed my body to be unable to handle the strain of using all my powers. All they left me with is Orbing and Shimmering. Any other power will drain my body of its strength and may destroy it," Jerome said.

"Great, so you're basically completely invincible and unbeatable, but you can't use any of it. Can you do anything else?" Piper asked. Paige shot her another look.

"I have some basic abilities and several inactive powers. I can cast spells, among other things, and cannot be killed. I may be unable to get hurt, though I doubt the Council would let me keep that power. I have also been trained in swordplay. My sword should still be in the kitchen," Jerome said.

"I'll get it," Paige volunteered. She left and went into the kitchen. She came back a few minutes later with a long sword. The sword had a red handle and was sheathed in a black metal sheath. Paige handed the weapon to Jerome, who unsheathed it and tested it. The blade was also black, and narrowed as it went towards the point. Jerome sheathed the sword, satisfied that it was fine.

"Is your sword magic?" Paige asked.

"No, just very sharp," Jerome replied. Paige frowned, seeming a bit disappointed.

"Well, if it's all the same to you, I'm going to bed," Piper said. Leo then Orbed into the living room.

"Let me guess; the Elders know nothing?" Jerome asked.

"As a matter of fact, they do know something. They know that you are extremely powerful, but they also suspect that you can't use most of that power," Leo replied.

"Well, they're right. I am, and I can't," Jerome replied.

"Great, now why don't we all go to bed and deal with all this tomorrow?" Piper said. Her family agreed and went to bed, leaving Jerome on the couch, thinking.

Author's Note:

So, how bad is it? I'll be honest, I have little hope for this, but I figured it can't hurt to try. Leave me a review if you think I should continue, or if I need to give up on this story.


	2. Chapter 2

Well, surprisingly enough, this story actually got a review. I do have a few things to address from said review. First: Jerome is not from the future. He is a member of a powerful group of beings who cast him out for... unruly behavior. That's why they locked his powers. Second, like I said before, he's a member of a powerful group of beings. He is not a child of any of the Charmed Ones. And lastly, Wyatt hasn't been born yet, so this isn't about him turning evil. He may not even be in this story, though that depends on how far this story goes. I still don't have a lot of hope, but enough people telling me otherwise could and would change that.

Chapter 2:

Paige woke up bright and early. Her sisters were still asleep, likely due to the interruption of their sleep last night. Paige, however, didn't have the luxury of sleeping in. She had to work. Paige got ready. The only thing that changed was the lack of banging on the bathroom door and the screaming to hurry up. Paige enjoyed that. She walked downstairs, mind completely focused on getting to work and a massive report she had to sort and file. Paige entered the kitchen, grabbed an apple, and walked towards the front door. She stopped about halfway through the entryway, felt the urge to turn to the side, did so, and saw Jerome. He was standing in the doorway that led to the living room, watching her. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"Uh, no. I just forgot you were here. I've gotta-" Paige said.

"Get to work, I know," Jerome interrupted. "I've been watching the Charmed Ones for a very long time. Well, you'd better go. Don't want to be late again, now, do you?"

"What will you do now?" Paige asked, ignoring Jerome's last comment.

"My plan is to stick around, use this house and all its supplies and magic to try and find out either how to contact my people or what I need to do to regain my powers."

"Wait, I thought you said-" Paige began.

"That my powers were all still here, but that I can't use them without destroying my body?" Jerome interrupted. Again. "Yes, I did say that. My body was stripped of its ability to withstand my powers, other than Orbing and Shimmering."

"Why were those two powers spared?" Paige asked.

"The Council wasn't going to leave me completely powerless, so they let me keep the ability to withstand being turned to Orbs and being Shimmered. Orbing is to travel the 'good' method, Shimmering is for the 'evil' method. I guess they figured I'd need a way to travel quickly," Jerome answered.

Phoebe chose that moment to come down the stairs. She looked at Paige, then at the clock, then back at Paige. "Shouldn't you be at work, Paige?" Phoebe asked.

Paige looked at the clock. "Oh, man! Mr. Cowan is gonna kill me! Bye!" Paige said. She then ran out the front door, closing it behind her. A minute later a car could be heard driving away.

"So, where does that leave you?" Phoebe asked Jerome.

"Research," Jerome answered. Phoebe heard enough while she was upstairs to know that Jerome said a lot more to Paige than just "research." Phoebe wondered why Jerome felt the need to hide his intentions from her but not from Paige.

"What kind of research?" Phoebe asked.

"That's not for you to know," Jerome answered.

"Well, it sounded like you said a lot more to Paige than what you said to me," Phoebe said. Jerome instead of replying said nothing. Phoebe stared at him. He stared back. "You're not gonna tell me anything, are you?"

"That's the plan."

"Great." Phoebe decided that worrying about what Jerome was up to was a waste of her time. He wasn't going to tell her, and she wasn't in any position to figure it out. Out of the corner of her eye, Phoebe thought she saw Orb lights. When she turned around and looked Jerome was nowhere to be seen, so she figured she did see Orb lights. Phoebe sighed and went to go eat breakfast.

Jerome Orbed himself to the top of the Golden Gate Bridge, hoping that the Council would give him some idea of what he needed to do. Jerome knew everything about his situation that he revealed to the Charmed Ones. He just made it seem as if he knew more. Jerome called for the Head of the Council, Marthis. Marthis appeared on the third call. Marthis was a short, balding man with piercing brown eyes. Most of Jerome's people had brown eyes. In fact, Jerome and his friend Marissa were the only two of their kind to have blue eyes rather than brown. "What? We banished you," Marthis snapped.

"And hello to you, too, Marthis. You banished me, inhibited my powers, and told me next to nothing," Jerome answered.

"So?"

"So? So, I want answers. What did I do, and what do I need to do?"

"You know what you did. You influenced the Grand Design to your favor. So, until you learn your lesson, you're stuck here with only a few powers. Do I need to list them out for you?" Marthis tauntingly asked.

Jerome knew that Marthis was trying to goad him, so rather than saying that he already knew what he could do, he chose to make Marthis explain. "Yes. List them," Jerome said.

Marthis sighed. "You can make potions, cast spells, scry, Shimmer, Orb, and your body will regenerate after being damaged. You're no longer fully invincible, but you can regenerate very well. We also saw it fit to make it so that, no matter what, you cannot die. You will always somehow regenerate or reform or something. Now, go about your business," Marthis said. Marthis then disappeared in a blinding flash of light, likely to irritate Jerome. Jerome sighed and Orbed back to the Halliwell Manor, where he figured he'd have to stay. After all, his crime was trying to change the Grand Design and kill the Charmed Ones, so it made sense that his punishment would be to live with them and be forced to stay his hand, despite the temptation to kill them.

Author's Note:

Well, we now know that Jerome trusts Paige more than Phoebe, and that he essentially tried to kill the Charmed Ones, and now he's living in their home. Great. Nothing quite like having someone who wants to kill you living under the same roof. Now, like I said before, I still have little faith in this story, but since someone was kind enough to leave a review my faith was increased just a bit. More reviews equal more faith in this story. And don't worry; Jerome isn't going to end up extremely Mary-Sue like. He kind of is, but with his powers restricted as they are, and the fact that he isn't invulnerable and CAN still be hurt or knocked out, makes him less of a Mary-Sue than is threatening. So, anyway, please leave a review and give me faith in this story.


	3. Chapter 3

Happy Thanksgiving to all Americans! Here's a gift of a chapter that has nothing to do with the holiday. Remember, every review gives me a little more hope, especially when its from someone new. And to you, mysterious named guest, aka Yello13, I've thought quite a bit about doing that. We'll see how it goes.

Chapter 3:

Jerome Orbed into the kitchen, right in the middle of Piper and Phoebe making a potion. Neither of the two women noticed Jerome's sudden presence, so he decided to scare them a bit. He waited until Piper was about to drop in some mandrake root into the potion, and said "What are you two doing?"

Just as Jerome anticipated, Piper dropped the mandrake root into the potion out of shock, and both she and Phoebe flinched at the explosion that came from the pot. "When did you get here?" Piper asked.

"About forty-three seconds ago. Now, what exactly are you doing? You've put enough stuff in that potion to obliterate this half of the country," Jerome said.

"Uh, demonic activity in the middle of the, uh, Sahara. We needed a potion strong enough to kill an entire desert of demons, so we mixed this thing up. Can you take us? Leo's with another charge and Paige has to work, so..." Piper trailed off.

Jerome, though highly suspicious that the two sisters were lying to him (after all, what demons would hang out in the Sahara?), agreed to Orb them to the middle of the great desert. Once they arrived in the middle of an empty, sandy field Phoebe kicked him in the gut. She and Piper ran a short distance from Jerome, and Piper flung her hands at him. "He's not freezing, Phoebe!" Piper said.

"Try blowing him up!" Phoebe replied. Piper flung her hands at Jerome again. Jerome's arm was blown to pieces. It then began to regrow. First, the bones grew and formed into an arm. The muscles other assorted body pieces began to grow along the skeleton. Lastly, the newly formed arm was covered by skin. During this whole process Piper and Phoebe looked with revulsion.

"That was disgusting!" Piper said. "And it didn't work. Phoebe, throw the potion!" Phoebe threw the potion at Jerome. It struck him in the center of the chest, releasing a massive explosion on impact. The force of the blast was, in fact, strong enough to destroy half of America. The blast, since it was created with the intent of sparing witches and innocents, only knocked Piper and Phoebe on their backs. When they got up, they saw a skeleton beginning to form. After it formed, it grew internal organs and muscles. Lastly, skin covered the muscles. Somehow, Jerome was reformed fully clothed. Piper gagged at the sight of Jerome's regeneration, while Phoebe looked away, nauseous.

"Are you done trying to kill me? Nothing you try will work; I'm completely immortal," Jerome said. Piper, after she finished gagging, stared at Jerome in shock. Phoebe, after overcoming her nausea, did the same.

"What? How did you survive that?" Piper asked.

"I told you; I'm completely immortal. Now, would you like me to Orb you home?" Jerome asked.

"I-I guess so," Phoebe said.

"Pity." Jerome Shimmered away. Jerome reappeared about three miles away. Jerome looked around, confused. He turned around and saw Marthis, glaring at him angrily.

"What?" Jerome snapped.

"What the heck is wrong with you? You left the Charmed Ones in the desert to die, after we sent you here to help them!" Marthis yelled.

"Wait, what? You sent me here to learn my lesson about interfering with the Grand Design by sitting back with the Charmed Ones and resisting the urge to kill them," Jerome said, confused.

"What? No we didn't, you idiot! We sent you here to learn your lesson by forcing you to help the Charmed Ones and restore the balance of the Grand Design. Now, get your butt back there and take them home! You are to use your knowledge and what power we let you keep to help them vanquish their foes," Marthis ordered. Marthis stared at Jerome and watched him Shimmer back to the two sisters. Jerome reappeared in front of the two sisters. Marthis nodded and Orbed away.

"Well, hopefully that little scare taught you two not to try to vanquish me. I've already told you; I'm not evil. There's no need to try to vanquish me," Jerome said.

"Okay! We're sorry! Now, please take us home," Piper said.

"Yeah, I was just a bit suspicious after you told so much to Paige but said almost nothing to me about your plans. I thought that you were plotting something, and were taking advantage of Paige's relative innocence to get to us," Phoebe explained.

Jerome sighed. "Fine. I'll explain what happened to me tonight. Now, come on. We're going back." Jerome grabbed the two women by their arms and Orbed them back to the manor. They arrived in the living room. Jerome looked at the clock; it was about 3:45. Paige usually got off work at 6, and it took her roughly half and hour to get through all the traffic. So, Jerome figured he had about two hours and forty-five minutes until he had to explain. Jerome took full advantage of his time by searching the Book of Shadows and other assorted magical dictionaries, including the Internet, to see what this world new about his people. Jerome's only lead was an Internet site about aliens building the pyramids. The site mentioned "Great guardians of the Grand Design of the gods" with "unlimited powers and infinite wisdom." This was very little to go by, and it was on a website about aliens.

Around five forty-five, Jerome heard a loud crash come from the kitchen. He ran in and saw a demon attacking Phoebe. Phoebe was facing Jerome and saw him, but did nothing to acknowledge his presence. She kicked the demon in the chest, shoving him towards Jerome. Jerome drew his sword and quickly thrust it into the demon's chest. The demon exploded in a burst of flame and disappeared. "Now do you believe that I'm not here to harm you?" Jerome asked. Phoebe said nothing. Jerome sheathed his sword and walked out of the kitchen, back into the living room. The demon event consumed about fifteen minutes, leaving Jerome with only half an hour left. Piper then came running down the stairs.

"What was that crash?" Piper asked.

"What took you so long? It was a demon. Don't worry; I already killed it," Jerome said.

"We don't kill, we vanquish. Killing is messy and wrong and illegal. Vanquishing is clean and good and helpful," Piper said.

"Whatever, the point is, it's gone," Jerome said. Piper ran into the kitchen anyway. She and Phoebe came out, looking slightly disturbed.

"You stabbed it with a sword?" Piper asked.

"Yes. Is that a problem? Unless I'm mistaken, you've used athames to kill demons. I fail to see much of a difference," Jerome replied.

"Yeah, well, we're just a bit shocked that you were able to vanquish it so easily. From what Phoebe said, it was an Upper level demon. And you vanquished it with a sword," Piper said. "Are you sure that sword isn't magic?"

"It isn't. Must be some of my own power. Perhaps the Council made a small mistake and gave me the power to ki- _vanquish_ Upper level demons through my sword," Jerome said.

"Oh, okay. Well, thanks for saving me," Phoebe said. Jerome said nothing. Jerome heard Paige's car drive up the driveway. He checked the clock. She was early. Paige opened the door and stormed into the living room, clearly angry.

"You know what happened today at work? Some jerk came in with his wife because he was beating her, and he beat her in the office, I might add, and he called us 'imbecilic buffoons who couldn't even help a kid reach the cookie jar.' He then proceeded to flirt with me, after he smacked his wife across the face! Can you believe that?" Paige screamed.

"Wow, and here I thought that I ranted a lot. Welcome to the family, Paige," Piper joked. Paige sneered at Piper.

"Well, at least you weren't blown to pieces with a potion that had enough power to destroy this half of the country," Jerome said.

Paige looked at him, confused. "Wait, what? You were blown up? Why?"

"Um, well, sweety, we thought that he was some kind of demon plotting to turn you and kill us. So, we took him into the desert and threw a very powerful potion at him, and then watched him regenerate. Which was disgusting, by the way," Phoebe said.

"Yeah, anyway, you said you were going to tell us everything once Paige got back, right?" Piper asked.

"Yes. Call Leo; I don't want to explain this more than once," Jerome said. Piper called Leo, who Orbed in. Piper explained everything to him, and Leo agreed to listen. He seemed rather interested in Jerome's story, too.

"In light of a recent attempt on my life," Jerome began, glaring at Phoebe and Piper, "I decided that you should hear my story. I am a member of a group of powerful people whose sole existence is to protect the Grand Design. We are the ultimate guardians, and we have every single power in existence, with the exception of stealing powers, since we have all of the others. We are under strict command never to use our powers to influence the lives of any other beings unless the Grand Design is thrown into imbalance. We can visit this world and watch those in this world, but we are not allowed to do anything more than that in this world.

"I eventually grew weary of only watching, so I tried to influence events here. I was caught. As punishment, I was cast out of my realm, lost the ability to handle using most of my powers, and forced to stay here until the balance is restored. For now, I need to help you, the Charmed Ones, until the balance is restored. I am not allowed to harm you or any other beings of good. Otherwise, the Council will kill me. Or worse, turn me mortal," Jerome said. Everyone in the room stared at him.

Paige eventually asked "What did you do?"

"My crimes are my own business. I'd rather not share them if you don't mind," Jerome said. Paige said it was fine, but Piper and Phoebe looked like they wanted to argue. Luckily, they didn't. Leo seemed to be thinking about what Jerome said.

Leo eventually asked "Why don't the Elders know about your people?"

"Because my people want no one to know of their existence, with the exception of the Angels of Destiny and the Angel of Death. And the Grand Architect, of course," Jerome replied. "But I honestly don't care if you tell the Elders what I've told you. It'll let me get a bit even with the Council for this punishment."

Leo Orbed Up There to tell the Elders everything he knew about Jerome's people. Piper, Paige, and Phoebe went to the kitchen to talk about what Jerome had said. Jerome stayed in the living room, rolling his eyes and muttering something about "Ridiculous that they still don't believe me."

"Well, can we trust what he says? I don't," Piper said.

"Why not? Why would he lie about all that? And why wouldn't he have tried to kill you after you blew him to pieces?" Paige asked.

"Paige, sweety, we've been at this a lot longer than you have, and we've heard of absolutely nothing that has that kind of absolute power. He did save my life, and vanquish an Upper level demon with a sword, though," Phoebe contemplated.

"Hey! If you asked me five months ago about magic, I would have called you crazy. But now I'm a witch. Why not give his story a chance, at least unless something happens to give us reason not to trust his story?" Paige said.

"Yeesh, you'd think she has a crush on him or something, huh Pheebs?" Piper joked. Paige blushed and turned away, looking embarrassed.

"Calm down, Paigey, we're just kidding. Alright, you've convinced me; we'll give him the benefit of the doubt," Piper said. Phoebe agreed. They told Jerome and went to eat dinner.

Author's Note:

Again, if you're interested at all in this story, please leave a review so I'll feel motivated enough to keep writing. And I ave a habit of occasionally putting polls up asking for reader input; when that happens, please answer the questions. It really helps me out.


	4. Chapter 4

I feel like I should tell you that the longer this story goes, the less frequently I'll be updating. The way I write is on impulse, and when I first think of a story I usually have a lot of impulse to carry me through a few chapters. As the story gets longer, I have less impulsive thoughts to motivate me to write. But the story will continue, so don't be too concerned if a few weeks ever pass between updates. It's not necessarily permanent.

Chapter 4:

About an hour after dinner, Paige came to ask Jerome something. Jerome was on the couch, reading from some book. She was sucking on a lollipop; a sign that she was stressed or worried. "You really shouldn't eat those every time you get stressed out. You'll end up rotting your teeth out," Jerome said, without looking up.

Paige blushed. "How did you know that I was eating a lollipop? How did you even know I was coming? I was being really quiet," Paige said.

Jerome sighed. "My senses are considerably stronger than yours; I could smell your lollipop. And I know for a fact that neither Phoebe nor Piper eat lollipops."

Paige had forgotten what she wanted to ask Jerome. She also had forgotten why she was stressed out and eating a lollipop in the first place. "Did you come here for a reason, or are you just going to stand there?" Jerome finally asked, this time looking up.

"Um, I think I'm just gonna stand here," Paige said lamely. Jerome sighed and went back to his book.

"So, what are you reading?" Paige asked, trying to make things a bit less awkward.

"A book about the human body and energy," Jerome replied.

"Why?" Paige asked. Jerome shot her a glance, and she started to think that she sounded a bit judgmental. "Uh, I-I mean why do you want to know about the human body and energy? Totally out of curiosity," Paige rushed to say.

Paige could have sworn she almost saw Jerome hide a very small smile, but his expression returned to his normal, cynical look almost instantaneously. "My other powers would consume massive amounts of energy if I were to use them. I'm trying to figure out a way to build enough energy to use my powers without completely depleting myself within a few seconds. I'm also trying to figure out how to accelerate the regeneration of energy so that if I ever do use my powers I can recover quickly."

Phoebe was outside the living room, listening. She was quiet enough that Jerome didn't hear her while he was distracted with Paige. She was going to wait until Paige left before she walked in and asked Jerome the same questions she heard Paige ask. Paige did leave, not noticing Phoebe as she walked out. Phoebe waited about a minute or so before she went into the living room. "Oh, hey Jerome. Didn't know you were in here," Phoebe said.

Jerome looked up. "Yeah, hi.," Jerome said. He then went back to reading his book.

"So, what are you reading?" Phoebe asked. Hopefully Jerome would tell her what he told Paige.

"A book."

Phoebe waited a moment before saying "Really? What's it about?"

"That information doesn't concern you," Jerome replied coolly.

"Well, what are you reading it for?" Phoebe asked, expecting very little in answer.

"Research," Jerome replied. Phoebe waited another minute. Jerome said nothing. Phoebe left, disappointed and slightly confused.

Piper came down the stairs just as Phoebe walked by them. "Hey, Phoebe!" Piper said.

Phoebe stopped and said "Huh?"

"Do you know where Jerome is?" Piper asked.

"Yeah, he's in the living room, reading some book," Phoebe replied, not really thinking about what Piper was asking.

Piper walked into the living room and said "Hey."

Jerome sighed and said "If you're trying to get me to talk like your sisters, I'm really not in the mood."

"Well, I was just going to ask you where you planned on staying," Piper said.

"Oh. My task is to help you out until the Council says otherwise, so I planned on staying here," Jerome replied.

"Great. Any preference as to what room I have to change so you have a place to sleep?" Piper asked.

"No. Any particular reason I can't stay on the couch?" Jerome asked.

"Yes. That couch isn't for sleeping. Besides, we usually get up pretty early and don't really want to wake you," Piper replied.

Jerome sighed and said that she could put him wherever she wanted. Piper decided that Jerome could stay in the guest bedroom, right next door to Phoebe's bedroom.

Piper then walked into the kitchen to see Paige sucking on a lollipop. "Paigey, I told you to stop eating these. They will rot your teeth out," Piper scolded.

"I'm sorry, but they're a great stress reliever," Paige replied. She then continued sucking on her lollipop.

"What are you so stressed out about? We haven't had any demonic activity, unless you count Mr. Indestructible, all day," Piper said.

"Well, it's about him. Remember when you teased me earlier saying that I had a crush on him?" Paige asked.

"Oh, no. No no no no no no no. Absolutely not. Paige!" Piper said.

"Well, I might! I don't know for sure yet! I need to wait and see. And don't worry too much, I'll do everything in my power to fight off the raging hormones," Paige assured Piper.

"You better. I for one still don't completely trust him. He got banished for something, and his punishment is helping us? I think he may have been siding with evil a little bit," Piper said.

"Okay, I'll be careful," Paige said.

Phoebe then walked into the kitchen. "Oh, there you are Paige. Is there any reason that Jerome trusts you more than me?" Phoebe asked.

"Well, hi to you, too," Piper said.

"Huh? Did he say that?" Paige asked, somewhat excitedly.

"Easy there, missy," Piper said.

"Well, no, not specifically. But I heard him talking to you about the book he was reading, and when I went in to ask him about the book, he told me next to nothing," Phoebe said.

"Well, maybe he knew you were eavesdropping," Paige said.

"I dunno, I kinda agree with Phoebe. He does seem to trust you more than the rest of us. He pretty much told me not to ask him anything when I went in to talk to him about where he'll be staying," Piper said.

"Well, maybe it's just because I was nicer to him when he crashed in our kitchen," Paige replied.

"Maybe, but I think something's up with him. He's hiding something very important, and I want to know what it is," Phoebe said.

Author's Note:

Well, looks like Jerome hasn't really gained anyone's trust by telling his story. Well, other than Paige's. And why doesn't he trust Phoebe or Piper as much as he trusts Paige? Is it some kind of evil plot? Or, I guess in his case it'd be a neutral plot. So, please leave a review and help bring some impulsiveness into my mind, to better motivate me to write.


	5. Chapter 5

Alright, more reviews means more motivation. And to Yello13, sorry about that. Personally I like the use of nicknames, at least amongst the sisters, since it helps show their bond as sisters. And I'm pretty sure they say that in the show (though I could be confused), and I'm trying to keep them relatively in-character if I can. I'll try to avoid use of her nickname, though.

Chapter 5:

It was about eight at night, and Jerome had disappeared to some unknown location. Phoebe was obsessing over figuring out Jerome's motives and, more importantly (at least to her), why he didn't trust her as much as Paige. Phoebe had a degree in psychology! Paige was just an assistant to a social worker! Phoebe should be considerably more trustworthy than her baby sister! Phoebe was determined to learn why Jerome trusted Paige more, and his motives. She, like Piper, also wanted to know his full story. She didn't think that Jerome was telling the whole truth.

Phoebe was trying to write a spell that would allow her to access Jerome's mind. From there, she hoped that she would be able to get his motives and his whole story, along with learning why Phoebe wasn't trustworthy. She was in the attic, thinking, when Piper came up. "What are you doing?" Piper asked.

Phoebe jumped. She hadn't seen or heard Piper come up. "Oh, nothing," Phoebe said, rather unconvincingly.

"Really? Because most people don't stand in the attic alone and jump when their sister asks them what they're doing when all they're doing is nothing," Piper said.

"Okay, fine. I'm trying to write a spell that would allow us to get into Jerome's head so I can figure out why he trusts Paige more than me," Phoebe admitted.

"Wow. Now I have a question to ask you. Why do you care who Jerome trusts more? As long as he trusts one of us to some extent, I'm content," Piper said.

"I-I don't really know. Maybe it's just because I feel like I should be the one everyone confides in. Now we have Jerome, who confides in Paige, rather than me. I guess I just don't get it," Phoebe said.

"Did he even technically confide in Paige or just tell her more than he told you? And did he say anything particularly important to her?" Piper asked.

"Well, now that you bring it up, he didn't say anything important, or technically confide anything," Phoebe admitted.

"Yeah, well, I'd help you out if I thought the spell was to learn his motives, but if it's just so you can learn why he doesn't trust you, then I guess..." Piper left that thought hanging.

"Oh, of course I want to know his motives!" Phoebe said. "After all, that's why I want in his mind, so I can get his motives and why he doesn't trust me."

"Well, in that case please, keep writing your spell," Piper said.

"Okay, almost got it, and there! One mind entering spell, complete!" Phoebe said. "Hey, come read it with me; I'll bet with both of us Mr. Invincible will have a really hard time stopping us."

Piper agreed and they both read from Phoebe's scrap of paper. "Our trust is thin, our faith behind. Help us enter Jerome's mind." Piper and Phoebe immediately felt the effects of the spell. They felt like they were turned into spirits and were being sucked into Jerome's mind.

Jerome, meanwhile, was alone. He was searching for a magical artifact that he was certain would really irritate the Council. Jerome suddenly felt a foreign presence try to enter his mind. He sighed. He knew it was Phoebe. Then the presence came, twice as powerful. Jerome felt Piper with Phoebe. That he didn't quite understand. Why was Piper helping Phoebe assault his mind? Jerome had no quarrel with Piper; he actually thought about sparing her when he plotted against the Charmed Ones. He then berated himself for allowing that thought to enter his mind; he couldn't risk the sisters learning about his past. It would make it almost impossible for him to get his powers back so he could finally kill them. Jerome felt the two sisters attack his mind again. This time, he could feel them breaking in. He decided that the best tactic would be to confuse them and he focused all his thoughts on Paige. He had no quarrel with Paige, either. In fact, he only really wanted the Power of Three gone. He would rather let them live if he could and still eliminate the Power of Three, but he was willing to kill all of them, if need be. Jerome berated himself again; these thoughts were dangerous when his mind was under attack. He focused on Paige, and he tried to make his thoughts seem as romantic as he could, though he had never been an expert in that area. His idea of romantic was a short trip to the Underworld for demonic tacos. Which were delicious. Perhaps Jerome would go and get a taco later. No, not now. Jerome needed to get the witches out of his mind, and he needed them to think he was obsessed with Paige. He focused one level of his mind, the one the sisters were attacking, on Paige. The others were all devoted to coming up with a spell that would get them out and keep them out. After being assaulted for several more minutes, and he was almost positive that the two sisters hadn't really seen anything, he came up with a spell. Piper and Phoebe were about two attacks away from gaining entry to Jerome's mind. "Keep this witches in the dark, don't let them find their mark. From the power of my kind, banish these witches from my mind!" Jerome yelled. He hadn't really needed to include the "power of my kind" part, since his kind didn't operate on a collective, other than to rhyme. Jerome felt the presence of the two witches leave his mind, and he breathed easy. Jerome then proceeded to continue his search for the magical artifact that he knew would really irritate the Council if he were to move it.

Piper and Phoebe were knocked off of their feet as their consciousnesses were shot back into their bodies. "Ow. What just happened?" Piper asked.

"I dunno. I think Jerome somehow felt us enter his mind," Phoebe replied.

"How?"

"Uh, I dunno. Maybe my spell didn't let us sneak in, only break in?" Phoebe suggested.

"Well, great. Now we can't risk going back; I'm sure Mr. Invincible has taken precautions to keep us out of his mind, since he clearly just shot us out. By the way, did you see anything for the brief instant we were in his mind?" Piper asked.

"Uh, I saw Paige. Lots of Paige. And it wasn't really threatening, or even all too creepy," Phoebe said.

"Great, and here I was hoping I was just imagining that. Whatever you do, don't tell Paige," Piper said. "She's already developing a crush on him; we do NOT want to do anything to increase that crush."

"Agreed. Now, how do we deal with Mr. Invincible when he gets back?" Phoebe asked.

"I dunno. Hope he doesn't tell Paige and, if he does, say that we still don't completely trust him and that we were hoping to catch a glimpse of what he did. And then we lie and say that we didn't get to see anything because he cast us out so quickly," Piper said. Phoebe agreed to stick with that excuse.

Author's Note:

Well, Piper and Phoebe were clumsy. Just for the record, the artifact Jerome is after isn't anything important. It has no connection to the plot, I just needed an excuse to have Jerome gone while Piper and Phoebe tried to invade his mind. He's just going to move it to irritate the Council. Don't ask me to explain anything else about the artifact because, quite frankly, I don't have anything else to give. Jerome only caught Piper and Phoebe breaking into his mind because they were careless and didn't specify sneak in their spell. So, the spell decided to give them the means to break into his mind by force, which I imagine would be extremely noticeable. If they hadn't been so careless and clumsy about it then they would have been able to enter Jerome's mind without his noticing and get what they wanted. So, please feel free to leave a review and give me the necessary motivation to write before next month.


	6. Chapter 6

Wow, I'm really typing these chapters fast. Maybe there's a muse inspiring me. Hey, Yello13, I'm using your line in this chapter! Sadly, though, I'm going to have to borrow an idea from a ridiculously large amount of stories for the next couple of chapters; sickness. Oh, well, hopefully my take on it won't feel so repetitive and overused.

Chapter 6:

It was about nine and Paige felt terrible. She had a nasty headache, a sore throat, and her nose was congested. This, naturally, put her in a pretty bad mood. She was about to head to bed when she was stopped by the supposedly omnipotent Jerome. Her heart fluttered, and she desperately tried to crush this feeling. She also blushed a bit when she realized that he was looking at her in her pajamas feeling really sick. She must have looked terrible. Jerome didn't seem to notice, or he just flat out didn't care. She really hoped it was the former. "Where are you going?" Jerome asked.

"To bed. I'm really tired," Paige replied, trying to keep herself from coughing.

"Right. Well, then, goodnight," Jerome replied.

Paige couldn't help but notice that he seemed to be in a really good mood. Then she noticed that he was eating a taco. She wondered if that taco was why he was in such a good mood. After all, Piper's cooking always managed to cheer her up, why couldn't some food do the same for Jerome? Eventually, she decided to ask about the taco. "Where did you get that taco?"

"From a restaurant called 'Bellantor's Mexican Food.' Consider it a demonic Taco Bell," Jerome replied.

"Looks really good," Paige said, trying not to think too much about food. She felt really bad, and didn't want to end up puking in front of Jerome. Or anywhere on Piper's carpet, for that matter.

"It is. I suppose I could bring you one, if you pay for it," Jerome said. Jerome must have been in a really good mood, because she was almost positive that he wouldn't have made an offer like that otherwise. She remembered hearing once that the best way for someone to gain a friend was to get them to do them a favor. So she accepted, and handed over a dollar.

"Be right back." Jerome Shimmered out and reappeared about a minute later. He handed Paige a taco and told her to enjoy.

She still felt queasy, but ate the taco regardless. She took a bite and, after she tasted its deliciousness, rapidly devoured the taco. Jerome allowed a small smirk to cross his face as he watched her eat the taco. "Wow, that was great, thanks for-" Paige stopped mid-sentence and retched. She ran to the kitchen sink where the sounds of vomiting could be heard. After a minute of no vomit Paige came storming back to Jerome, trying to channel all her foul mood and sick feeling into anger, though she knew that the taco wasn't the cause of her upset stomach.

"What the heck was that for? Are you trying to kill me?" Paige asked furiously.

Jerome seemed confused. "No, I wasn't. If I had wanted to kill you, I would have done so already. Do you not see this sword?" Jerome asked as he brandished his sword.

Paige chose to try and get herself even angrier. "Oh, so you're saying I'm weak? Gee, thanks so much for the compliment," Paige replied sarcastically.

Jerome seemed even more puzzled by this. "No, you are one of the Charmed Ones, a force to be reckoned with," Jerome said. Jerome then decided to try to unnerve her a bit and, if Paige told her sisters about this discussion, set them on the completely wrong path. "Besides," he said, "who would want to hurt a pretty little thing like you?"

Paige visibly angered, though secretly she was thrilled to be called pretty. She wasn't thrilled, however, to be called little or thing. "Look, Mr. Invincible, I'm not a thing, I am human! And never. Call. Me. A. Pretty. Little. Thing! Otherwise, you'll regret it!" Paige quickly turned her head so Jerome wouldn't see her face as she desperately tried to convince herself that she wasn't falling for him.

Author's Note:

This chapter is a bit shorter than the others, but I liked it. Jerome was really OOC, but that was the demonic taco. Those things are crazy good, and can completely change a person's attitude, at least temporarily. Don't worry; Jerome will be back to his usual self next chapter, and the demonic tacos aren't a major plot point in the story. I just had a desire to include Mexican food. So, please leave a review telling me what you thought of this chapter and the story so far, and if you didn't like something please let me know so I can try to fix any flaws or incorporate any ideas into my story. And that last scene, right after Paige threw up her taco and was talking to Jerome, was mostly written by Yello13. I like it a lot, so I had to include it. The original scene is in a review for this story, if anyone wants to see it. I only made a few changes to better fit the particular setting.


	7. Chapter 7

Hopefully I'll answer some of the questions I've been asked in this chapter. Though, the demonic taco recipe is a well guarded secret (I have no idea how to make one).

Chapter 7:

Paige woke up feeling worse than she did the night before, well, other than when she was barfing that taco. Her nose was stuffed up, her ears were feeling plugged up, she had a killer headache, her throat hurt, and her stomach was churning. Add all of that to a general feeling of weakness and aches and pains all over her body and the result is a very unhappy Paige. It was Wednesday, and Mr. Cowan was expecting her to be at work bright and early, as opposed to late like she was yesterday. She glanced at her alarm clock. She usually got up around six thirty; it was six twenty-five. She really needed someone to call in for her. She tried yelling for Piper, but to her great irritation it hurt to speak, yet alone shout. Paige figured that meant she had to get up. She stood up, but got really dizzy and had to sit down. After her head stopped spinning she stood up and slowly made her way to Phoebe's room. Phoebe's room was considerably closer than Piper's. Paige walked down the hallway, feeling like a zombie, until she got to the door of her big sister's room. She knocked. There was no reply. Paige knocked again, only louder. Still no reply. Paige opened the door. There was no Phoebe.

Paige didn't have enough time to think about this when Phoebe walked up behind her. "Hey, Paige. What's wrong?" Phoebe asked.

Paige turned around and Phoebe gasped. Paige groaned to herself; did she really look that awful? "Oh, Paige, honey, are you okay? You look awful," Phoebe asked. Paige noticed that Phoebe was dressed up in a very formal, business dress. Then Paige remembered; Phoebe had a job interview that day. Paige groaned quietly again. That meant her big sister couldn't take care of her. Oh, well. At least she still had Piper, assuming Piper didn't have anything at P3 that needed to be taken care of.

"I'm sick," Paige croaked. She then started coughing. After a few seconds passed, she stopped.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, but I have a really important job interview. I'll miss it, see if I can reschedule, if you want me to," Phoebe said.

Paige was touched by her sister's compassion, but she shook her head. She wasn't going to let Phoebe miss a job interview for her. "Mr. Cowan," Paige said. She couldn't say more, because she had another coughing fit.

After Paige had finished her fit, Phoebe said "Of course I'll call Mr. Cowan for you. Are you sure that you don't want me to stay home?"

Paige gave Phoebe a look that said "Don't even think about it." Phoebe nodded and called Mr. Cowan. Paige slowly made her way back to her room. She collapsed on her bed and waited.

After a minute Phoebe came in. "Okay, Mr. Cowan said that he hopes you feel better soon, and that you can take as much time as you need off work. As long as you work twice as hard when you get back," Phoebe said. Paige smiled a bit. "Do you want me to tell Piper that you're sick?" Phoebe asked.

Paige nodded. Phoebe left and returned a few minutes later with Piper. "Oh, Paige, honey, are you okay?" Piper asked.

Paige gave her an annoyed look. Did she look like she was okay? "Right. Sick in bed, definitely not okay. Sorry. Pheebs, can you stay with her? I have to be at P3 all day to do some sound tests," Piper asked. Paige vigorously shook her head no.

"No? You don't want Phoebe to stay with you?" Piper then looked at Phoebe, and realized that Phoebe was dressed up. Piper then remembered that Phoebe had a job interview that day. "Oh, you don't want to make Phoebe miss her interview. Got it. Well, look at you! We can't leave you here all alone," Piper said.

Paige croaked "Jerome."

"What? Leave you here with him? Absolutely not!" Phoebe exclaimed.

"Calm down, Phoebe. I don't like it either, but Paige won't let you stay here, and I can't. Besides, if she needs anything, Leo is just an Orb away. And I doubt Jerome would hurt her, right Phoebe?" Piper nudged Phoebe, who caught on and relented, though she didn't seem happy about it.

Piper left to tell Jerome that Paige was sick and he was responsible for keeping an eye on her and taking care of her. At least until either she or Phoebe got back. Jerome didn't take it too well. "What? I have very important work to do, I can't stay here all day and play doctor!" Jerome said.

"You were sent here to help us, remember? Now, how helpful would you be if you stayed and took care of our baby sister? I'd say that'd be very helpful, wouldn't you?" Piper asked. It was rhetorical, so Jerome just grumbled and agreed to stay. Though he seemed even less happy than Phoebe did about it.

Piper and Jerome stood there for a minute, until Piper said "Well, go talk to her! You can't take care of her in here!"

Jerome sighed and walked into Paige's bedroom, making a mental note to remember to leave the manor before anyone else got up from then on. Jerome entered Paige's room and asked "Need anything?"

Paige shook her head no, and Jerome left. Piper was standing right outside the door. "What was that? You walk in, ask her if she needs anything, then leave?" Piper asked.

"What more can I do? Do you want me to expend all my energy to heal her and be incapacitated for the rest of the day?" Jerome asked.

"No, I want you to stay with her. Phoebe already left, but she should be back in a few hours. So, stay here until then," Piper said. Jerome sighed and went back into Paige's room, mumbling the whole way.

"Good. Alright, Paige if you need anything Jerome's here, Leo's just an Orb away, and Phoebe should be back in a few hours. Feel better, bye!" Piper said. Then she left. Jerome heard the sound of a car driving away a minute later.

Jerome stood awkwardly in the doorway. Paige looked at him and managed to say "Did you come here for a reason, or are you just going to stand there?" She smiled, hoping he would remember. Judging by his sigh Paige figured he did.

Jerome decided to humor her joke and said "I think I'll just stand here." Okay, granted it wasn't exactly what she said to him, but Jerome didn't feel like copying her exact words. It was sufficient enough, since Paige's smile got slightly bigger.

Jerome realized something, and said "So, I'm going to assume that your... reaction to the taco last night was because you were sick, not because of the taco itself."

Paige nodded. Jerome asked "Any idea how you got sick?"

Paige shook her head no. "Are you sure? People don't just get sick for no reason, they catch it from somewhere or someone," Jerome said.

Paige started thinking, then said "Maybe-" She stopped due to a coughing fit. She then muttered "Water."

"Alright, I'll get you water," Jerome said. Jerome went down the stairs and into the kitchen. He grabbed a cup out of the cupboard and began to fill it with water. He sensed someone, or something, behind him. He turned around and saw a man in a nice business suit with slicked back hair. Jerome knew this man; it was Cole.

"Well, if it isn't Belthazor. What brings you here?" Jerome asked, intentionally using his demon name.

"My name isn't Belthazor; it's Cole. The demon is dead, far as I'm concerned. Who are you? Where's Phoebe? And how do you know my demon name?" Cole asked.

"Shall I answer your questions in order?" Jerome rhetorically asked. Jerome didn't bother waiting for an answer, and said "First, my name is Jerome. I'm a member of an incredibly powerful group of individuals, however my powers are almost entirely... sealed, we'll say. Ask Leo or one of the sisters for the details. Second, Phoebe is at a job interview. And third, my people watch the Earth continually, and you just happened to be very interesting to watch."

Cole looked at Jerome and, after deciding that it wasn't worth it to dig for more details, asked "So, what are you doing?"

"So suspicious! If you really want to know, I'm getting water for Paige. She's sick," Jerome replied.

"Oh. Well, I'll just leave you to that, then. Tell Phoebe I stopped by, and that I'll be back soon," Cole said. He then Shimmered away. Jerome shook his head and brought the water to Paige. She drank it quickly. Jerome reminded her that she was about to say something before he got her water.

"Maybe I got sick because I fell into the fountain in the park during my lunch hour yesterday and got all wet and cold," Paige said.

"And it never occurred to you to change, dry off, or warm up?" Jerome asked. Paige just gave a sheepish half grin. Jerome sighed.

Author's Note:

Well, that felt a lot like a filler chapter to me. Oh, well. It does contribute to Jerome learning that he's going to have to stick around rather than sleeping in their house then leaving on mysterious quests that I haven't thought of. So, if there are any ideas for more Jerome/Paige sickness bonding stuff, please let me know. Because I'm kind of out of ideas. At least until Phoebe gets back, but there's still time for just Jerome and Paige. If I get any ideas. And just for the record, Jerome is immune to disease, so him getting sick is kind of impossible. Review this story if you have any ideas or even if you just want more Jerome/Paige stuff. I'll try to think of something if enough people (meaning at least 2) want more but give me nothing to work with.


	8. Chapter 8

Just for the record, I'm watching season 6 of Charmed right now, not season 4 (already watched it, trying to go through the whole series), so if some of the characters seem a bit OoC, that's why. Sorry. So, this chapter will have some Jerome/Paige "bonding" (which, since Jerome is so... Jerome, will be pretty one sided) along with the introduction of Jerome's primary antagonist. The sisters have enough on their own, but Jerome needs one who's as dangerous as he is.

Chapter 8:

Paige had fallen asleep, so Jerome decided to head downstairs and sit on the couch. He knew that Piper and Phoebe would attempt to kill him if he left Paige, and while he couldn't actually die, it still hurt like no other type of pain. Jerome actually had taken crotch shots (which hurt him as badly as they hurt every other guy) and felt less pain. So, Jerome decided that it was in his best interest to stay. Jerome had found a book earlier that day that talked about focusing one's power and energy and using it to accomplish feats that most mortals viewed as impossible. Jerome figured that this book would help him use his powers without burning himself out as quickly.

Jerome started reading, but in about two minutes he was interrupted by a brief flash of light. Jerome looked up, expecting Marthis, but to his surprise saw Paul, one of his old friends. Paul was a fairly tall man, though not quite as tall as Jerome, and he was very muscular. He had brown eyes, like most of his people, and dark, short hair. Paul looked at Jerome and smiled. Jerome allowed a small grin to cross his face. "Hey, man! I've been trying to find out where the Council sent you ever since they kicked you out of our home! So, tell me, how bad is it?" Paul asked. Jerome had two main friends back when he was living amongst his own people. Paul was one of them, the other was a very young (by their standards) girl named Marissa. The three of them were the only ones who dared use their powers anywhere outside of the Garden, or the home of Jerome's people. It wasn't technically violating any rules to use their powers outside of the Garden, just to use them to interfere with the Grand Design. Jerome was the only one who actually used his powers for that reason, though the other two were more than willing.

"It sucks. I have access to all of my active powers, yet I can't use them without burning up all of my body's energy. It's having a flamethrower made of paper," Jerome replied.

"Well, I guess you killing that one witch-" Paul started.

"Hush! One of them is home, and I don't want her knowing what I did. I have to help them out until the Council thinks I've learned my lesson, and I can't help them if they don't trust me. And do you honestly think they'd trust me if they knew I killed a witch, yet alone their sister?" Jerome asked. Paul wasn't the brightest person out there. Back in the Garden, Jerome was the brains of the group. As a result, he was the leader. Paul was the raw muscle and power, though both Jerome and Marissa were terrifyingly powerful themselves. Marissa was usually the stealth, since she was fairly small, pretty smart and quick-witted (though to a lesser degree than Jerome), and, most importantly of all, she was excellent at acting "normal" and blending in with regular people, witches, demons, etc. The only peoples she couldn't pose as were Elders and Avatars, since they were few enough to all know each other personally.

"Oh, sorry. But wouldn't it be easier to just kill one of them and make it look like an accident? Then help the other two until the Council gives you your powers back? Then you eliminate the Power of Three and get your powers," Paul said.

Jerome had to admit, it was an almost decent plan, especially for Paul, but it wouldn't work. "No, the Council will suspect something if one of the Charmed Ones dies, and then I'll never get my powers back. Besides, which one to kill? It took two years to decide to kill Prue, who kill now?" Jerome asked.

"Kill Phoebe. I thought you were gonna do that anyway," Paul said blankly.

"No, Marissa wanted to kill Phoebe. Speaking of which, where is she?" Jerome asked.

"Uh, I dunno. Maybe she went for a taco?" Paul suggested.

"Spectacular. Well, you should probably go. One of the sisters is sick, and I was tasked with taking care of her. I should probably check on her right now," Jerome said.

Paul frowned. "Wait a minute... You've gotten soft, haven't you! You've become a nurse maid, taking care of one of the witches you've wanted dead for years! You are no longer fit to lead. I'm taking over the operation!"

That was Paul, jumping to the completely wrong conclusion. "No, that isn't true. I still want the Power of Three gone, however I need to gain the trust of the Charmed Ones for that to happen, and I need to play it very carefully if I want my powers back. And how do you expect to take over the operation? By bossing around Marissa? You know she won't listen to you, and if you think I've gone soft, then why would I agree to follow you? Are you going to become a one man operation? Where would you get the brainpower?" Jerome asked.

"I don't need brainpower! I'll just go kill the sick girl right now!" Paul said. Paul tried to run up the stairs.

Jerome drew his sword and blocked the stairwell. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that. Give it up, you know you've never been able to beat me in a fight, I've always outsmarted and outmaneuvered you," Jerome said.

"But that was before you lost your powers," Paul said. Paul blasted Jerome with a fireball. It hit Jerome in the chest, leaving a gaping, bloody hole. The hole filled with bone, then muscle, and lastly covered itself with skin and shirt.

"Well, I'm still pretty much invincible. And I even regenerate clothing, how nice," Jerome said. Jerome thrust his sword into Paul's gut. The sword bounced off, doing nothing.

Jerome frowned. Paul laughed. "Looks like the Council also removed your ability to use that sword to hurt me!" Paul then lunged for Jerome and tackled him to the ground. Jerome Shimmered out from under Paul and reappeared high above him, with his elbow aimed at the base of Paul's neck. Jerome fell onto Paul, and the force of the impact caused Paul to grunt. Paul threw Jerome off of him, but Jerome was on his feet in seconds, ready to fight. Paul telekinetically threw Jerome into the wall, knocking the breath out of him. Paul Orbed. Jerome yelled out and Orbed, intercepting Paul's Orbs in the process. Jerome took them to Purgatory. They landed on a small ledge inside the giant hole with a lava pool at the bottom. Jerome landed closer to the wall, and didn't have to struggle to stay on. Paul, however, was less fortunate and nearly fell off.

"Your choice, Paul!" Jerome yelled. "Either you let me lead and work in my own way, however I see fit, or I shove you off!"

"You can't kill me! I'll survive this!" Paul said.

"I know, I'm counting on you surviving. Then you can suffer the horrible, unbearable pains of the great pit of fire every waking second of your eternal life!" Jerome shouted. He intentionally left out the fact that Paul could teleport in many different ways. Paul wouldn't figure that our for a very long time, if at all.

"You're bluffing!"

"Try me."

"I won't abandon the mission! You said so yourself that we would take out the Charmed Ones, together, and take their Power of Three, the only power that our people don't possess. And you said that we would use it to take over the Garden, and rule over everything!" Paul said.

"So be it." Jerome shoved Paul off the ledge, into the fiery pit. He saw Paul hit the lava, heard the blood curdling scream. Jerome, satisfied that Paul would be kept busy for a little while, Shimmered back to the Halliwell manor. He didn't notice Paul groping at the side of the pit, trying to get out. Jerome did know that Paul would find a way out of Purgatory, eventually. He would teleport out eventually, but Jerome thought that he had plenty of time. He was wrong.

Author's Note:

So, this chapter wasn't about the sisters at all, but it provided a ton of background on Jerome. Background that the sisters would die to know. Looks like we can all blame Jerome for the death of Prue, rather than Shax. So, please leave a review telling me if you liked all the Jerome lore of the chapter, or if you really missed the sisters and want to see them again next chapter. And I would also like some ideas for a name for Jerome's people. I've got a few, but I'm not terribly fond of them. Any ideas would be appreciated, so please leave one or two or six.


	9. Chapter 9

Well, here's a rather boring chapter to motivate reviews, since I'm running low on ideas and kind of need some input.

Chapter 9:

When Jerome returned to the manor, he went up to check on Paige. She was still asleep. Jerome was a bit surprised that she had stayed asleep through all the fighting that had been going on downstairs. Jerome heard Leo Orb in behind him. "Hello, Leo," Jerome said.

"What's wrong with Paige? Why is she asleep?" Leo asked, suspicion thick in his voice.

"She's sick. Piper and Phoebe both had places they needed to be, so I'm here taking care of her. She's asleep because she's tired and sick," Jerome replied.

"Oh." Leo sounded a bit surprised, but the Whitelighter didn't press Jerome for any details. "The Elders want to know if there's any way they can restore your powers, you know, for the future. As a reward for loyalty to the sisters," Leo said.

"Other than ask the Council to give them back? I doubt it. I have a spell that would do it, but it isn't powerful enough to overcome the spell the Council put on me. Maybe if they all combined their power, and had the Power of Three..." Jerome trailed off.

"Wait, you mean combine their powers, like in a collective? The Elders don't operate on a collective," Leo said.

"Neither do my people, but the Council used a spell to temporarily combine and collectivize their powers. Perhaps if enough Elders and the sisters said that spell, along with my own power added in, then they would be able to overcome the spell the Council put on me," Jerome said.

"So, how do we test it?" Leo asked.

"We do it and see. Are the Elders willing to give me back my powers?" Jerome asked.

"Absolutely not! We barely know you, and we don't know your past," Leo said.

"I saved Paige's life today. Someone was after her, and I stopped him," Jerome said.

"What? Who?" Leo asked.

"Irrelevant. The point is, I stopped him and saved Paige's life. And he won't be coming back anytime soon," Jerome used some energy to put some power in his words, to convince Leo not to worry about Paul or Paige. It cost him, and Jerome noticed the effects immediately. That little act of power, however, wasn't enough to knock him out or cause him to visibly weaken, so Leo didn't suspect anything.

"Alright. Well, in that case, the Elders may be willing to give you back one power, but no more than that. They wanted to know so they could give you some incentive to help the Charmed Ones," Leo said.

"Well, go ask the Elders and see if they're willing to give my idea a try. Do you want me to get the sisters? We'll need the Power of Three if this is going to work," Jerome said. Leo told him to go ahead and get them. Jerome knew where Piper was, but not where Phoebe was. Oh, well. Piper could call Phoebe and tell her what was going on. Jerome looked at Paige. She was sound asleep. Jerome figured he could get Piper and still be back before she woke up.

Jerome Shimmered to P3. He appeared in the back, where no one saw him. He waited until Piper was standing right in front of him, then tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped and turned around. "Jerome? Don't scare me like that! What are you doing here?" Piper asked.

Jerome skipped the sarcastic comment he wanted to make and just said "The Elders need the Power of Three."

"Oh. Fine. Hey, Jake! Can you take over for me? Family emergency, little sister's really sick," Piper asked.

"Oh, yeah. No problem!" Jake replied.

"Thanks!" Piper shouted. She then turned to Jerome and said "Alright, let's go." Jerome Shimmered out with Piper.

When they arrived in the manor, Piper nearly fell. "Why couldn't we have Orbed? I'm used to Orbing, not so much to Shimmering," Piper complained.

"Shimmering is considerably less noticeable than Orbing," Jerome stated.

"Still. Okay, what do the Elders want?" Piper asked.

"The Power of Three. Call Phoebe," Jerome said.

"Excuse me? Did you just try to boss me around?" Piper asked.

Jerome rolled his eyes. "Please call Phoebe?" he asked.

"That's more like it. What about Paige, is she feeling up to this?" Piper asked.

"I don't know, she was asleep when I went to get you. I'll go check on her," Jerome said. He went up the stairs to check on Paige while Piper called Phoebe. Jerome went up to see Paige sitting on her bed, still looking half asleep.

"Paige, wake up. The Elders need the Power of Three," Jerome said.

Paige yawned. "Hey, hey, I'm awake. Why do the Elders need the Power of Three?" Paige asked groggily.

"They want to know if there's anyway to release some of my powers, and need the Power of Three to do so," Jerome said.

"Alright, give me a minute," Paige said. She stood up, stretched, and walked downstairs. Jerome followed.

Piper saw Paige coming down the stairs and commented, saying "Looks like you're feeling better. Can you talk?"

"Yep, I feel gre-" Paige's breathing hitched, and she sneezed. She Orbed away, only reappear a moment later.

"Excuse me. Maybe I'm not as good as I thought," Paige said. She saw Piper staring at her. "What?" she asked.

"You do realize that you just Orbed, right?" Piper asked.

"What?"

"Yeah, when you sneezed. You Orb when you sneeze," Piper said.

"Yeah, well, that's fascinating, but is Phoebe on her way?" Jerome asked.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. She just finished up at her job interview and was on her way home anyway. She should be here in about ten minutes. Now, back to Paige..." Piper said.

"Maybe it was just a fluke? Orbing is a fear reaction, right? So maybe I just scared myself. But now I'm ready, and I won't frighten myself," Paige said.

"Don't count on it," Jerome said.

"Why?" Paige asked.

"The Council, no, my entire people live to protect the Grand Design. Having magic exposed is completely contrary to the Grand Design, in fact, according to the Grand Design, magic can never, ever be exposed. Paige, ever since you were born you had issues with Orbing and sneezing. My people just made it so that no one ever noticed your Orbing. It was really hard when you smoked and it was allergy season. You sneezed almost every ten minutes. That's a lot of Orbs to hide," Jerome said.

"Um, sorry?" Paige offered.

"You have allergies?" Piper asked.

"I did, when I was a teenager. Sometimes they still flare up, like when it's spring and there's a lot of pollen around, but they're not too bad anymore," Paige said.

"Well, at least we know you're a Halliwell," Piper said.

"Why do you say that?" Paige asked, confused.

"All of the Halliwell sisters have allergies. Piper's allergic to bee stings and poison ivy, Phoebe's allergic to shellfish, Prue was allergic to dust, and you're allergic to pollen," Jerome said.

"How do you know that?" Piper asked.

"My people protect the Grand Design. The Halliwells are, have been, and will be instrumental in keeping it in balance. We know a lot about you," Jerome said.

"That's really creepy," Piper said. Jerome heard Phoebe's car pull up the driveway. A few seconds later Phoebe burst in through the front door.

"What's the big emergency?" Phoebe asked. She then noticed Paige. "Oh, hi Paige! Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, much better," Paige said.

"Until she sneezes," Piper said.

"What?" Phoebe asked.

"Never mind, the point is the Elders need you. Leo! Get down here!" Jerome said.

"Hey! You don't call for my husband. Leo! Please get down here before Jerome explodes!" Piper yelled. Leo Orbed down to the sisters.

"Alright, Jerome the Elders are willing to try your method, but only because you saved Paige's life and they're only giving you one power," Leo said.

"Wait, this is just so you can get more power? Why would we agree to do that?" Phoebe asked.

"Because I saved Paige's life," Jerome replied.

"From who?" Paige asked. "Who tried to kill me?"

"Someone who wants the Power of Three dead. Who doesn't matter, what does matter is that I stopped him. You don't have to worry about him anymore," Jerome replied. Paige seemed to be content with what Jerome said, but Phoebe and Piper didn't look convinced. Luckily they decided not to pursue the issue.

"So, what power is he getting back?" Phoebe asked.

"The Elders want to give him healing," Leo said.

"Then they'd better be willing to give me another power, one that's evil," Jerome said.

"Why?" Piper asked.

"Because my people, in order to be truly neutral, never allow themselves to have an unequal amount of good or evil powers, to keep themselves in balance. That's why I was given two teleportation powers, one good and one evil. To keep myself in balance," Jerome said.

"Well, then we'll just have to unlock a neutral power. Let's get this over with," Piper said. Leo Orbed them all Up There, where the Elders were waiting.

An Elder stepped forward and said "Jerome, please give us the spell we need to combine our powers."

"Well, no introductions. That's fine. Everyone needs to repeat this: By the power of the Earth, moon, and fire, combine our powers to fulfill our desire," Jerome said. Everyone repeated the spell, all of the hundreds of Elders, the Charmed Ones, Jerome, and even Leo spoke the spell. Everyone's power floated to a ball of magical energy in the center of everyone.

"Now, no one say any spells, or this thing is going to put all of that magic into that spell. So, which power can I have?" Jerome asked.

"We we give you healing, so you can better protect the Charmed Ones," the Elder said.

"Sorry, no good powers without an equal number of evil powers to keep myself in balance. Try a neutral power, or you could give me an evil power to go with the healing. Personally, I'd go with the two powers, but if you really insist on giving me a neutral, may I request electrokinesis?" Jerome said.

"No, we will not give you two powers, but if you need to be balance, then we will give you a neutral power. But we will not give you electrokinesis; that power is too powerful to trust you with it, at least for now," the Elder said.

"Then which power will you give me?" Jerome asked.

"Hm, telekinesis is very common amongst witches and demons alike. Perhaps that power," the Elder said.

"Hold on a minute, are you crazy? You're giving him that much power?" Piper asked.

"It is very common, and not as powerful as the electrokinesis he requested. Besides, telekinesis isn't quite as dangerous as some of the other powers we could give him," the Elder said.

"Well, why not test this with a weaker power?" Phoebe asked. "Why does it have to be one that's so powerful?"

"Just let the Elders do as they please. After all, they are all about the greater good," Jerome said. "Before you do this, I fell compelled to tell you that with telekinesis comes all the sub-powers with it, as long as they don't require another power that I don't have access to."

"What do you mean?" Leo asked.

"I mean, with telekinesis comes psychokinesis, telekinetic Orbing, etc. Still willing to give me that power?" Jerome asked.

"Yes. We will take our chances. Now, what is the spell you want us to use?" the Elder asked.

"I can cast the spell, my power is in that thing, too. The Council has spoken, my powers are gone. Restore my powers, though only the one. Powers that be, restore telekinesis to me!" Jerome said. The giant ball of magic came flying into Jerome. Jerome felt the power flow through him, he felt like a shackle was loosed. The light faded, leaving everyone staring at Jerome expectantly. Jerome flicked his hand, and sent an Elder flying.

All the Elders began panicking, until Jerome yelled out "Calm down! I wasn't trying to hurt him, I just wanted to test my 'new' power. I'm not out to hurt anyone." The Elders all calmed down.

The Elder from before stepped forward again and said "We have restored one of your powers, and though you could have used our power to fully release yourself, you didn't. You have proven trustworthy enough to open us to the possibility of releasing more of your powers in the future. Now, you must leave The Heavens, for only Elders and Whitelighters are allowed Up Here."

Jerome, Leo, and the sisters left, returning to the manor.

Author's Note:

Well, this was both relatively boring and extremely long. So, what's the general opinion on having Jerome's power released? Excitement, fear, dread, a feeling of "Why did he do that? He just ruined the story!" Please, leave a review telling me how you guys felt about this chapter, liked it, hated it, it ruined the story for you, let me know!


	10. Chapter 10

So, I just watched the end of season 6. I really hope my characterization isn't too horribly off, but if the sisters or Leo seem kind of... season 6-ish, rather than early season 4-ish, then I'm not succeeding. Sorry for any inconsistencies, but in my defense my plan was to cause Jerome to really change events. Most of season 4 is going to change completely. There are a couple of episodes in season 5 I don't want to change too much and several in season 6, but the vast majority of this story will be different from the canon series. Sorry if this completely turns anyone away, but rewriting episodes with a new guy isn't my forte. Anyway, on with the story!

Chapter 10:

As soon as Jerome arrived in the manor he wanted to go test his powers and see exactly what all he had gained. He was reasonably certain that he had gained telekinetic Orbing as a subset to his telekinesis, since he already had Orbing before (though he wasn't going to let the Elders know about his doubts, small as they were). He also suspected that he had gained the ability to more or less control fire, electricity, etc. He doubted it would be nearly as powerful or effective as true pyrokinesis or true electrokinesis, but that it would suffice for the time being. However, Jerome had a duty that he had to at least attempt to fulfill. He turned to Piper and asked "Since Phoebe's here, does that give me a break from caring for Paige, or would you like me to continue taking care of her?" Jerome tried to make it sound like he only wanted a rest from the efforts of caring for Paige, not that he was sick of doing so.

"Yeah, sure, go do whatever it is you do. Phoebe, you can handle Paige for a few hours, right? I've got to get back to P3," Piper replied.

"Yeah, sure," Phoebe said.

"I'm fine, I don't need someone to take care of me. I feel so much better, I was thinking I'd head to work and try and catch up a bit. Those files really pile up, fast," Paige said.

"Yeah, no. We don't want you sneezing and revealing magic now, do we?" Piper asked challengingly.

"Wait, what's this about sneezing and revealing magic?" Phoebe asked.

"It's nothing. I'm fine, I can go to work," Paige said.

"Absolutely not. Revealing magic is completely contrary to the Grand Design, and now that you are aware of your powers and have some degree of control over them, my people will not cover for you. I no longer have enough power to cover you, so your only option is to stay until you have made a full recovery," Jerome said.

"Would someone please tell me what's going on?" Phoebe exclaimed.

"Sorry, I've got to go, now, and it would take a while to explain it anyway, knowing you," Piper said, grinning slightly at her younger sister. She then quickly turned, walked out the front door, turned back around, and said to Jerome "You're gonna have to Orb or Shimmer me there; you took me and left my car."

Jerome sighed and agreed. He also mentioned that afterwords he would be off somewhere else, though he refused to say where. Jerome and Piper Orbed away, on Piper's request to not Shimmer, leaving Phoebe and Paige alone. "So, wanna watch a movie?" Phoebe asked.

"Sure, why not? I'm under house arrest, might as well try to enjoy it," Paige replied.

"Okay, what movie do you want to watch?" Phoebe asked.

"I don't know. I used to love Karate Kid, do you have it?" Paige asked.

"Yep! Prue was crazy about this movie," Phoebe replied. Phoebe set up the VCR and played the VHS tape, effectively consuming the next two hours. Phoebe finally got to see what everyone was talking about with Paige exposing magic when she sneezed during the movie.

Meanwhile, Marthis and another Council member were talking in the Garden, watching Jerome. Marthis made the comment "I can't believe we didn't stop to think that Jerome would know the spell we used to combine all of our power, and then we also forgot to factor in how powerful all the Elders, along with the Power of Three, actually are! What do you think? He was never supposed to get any of his powers back."

"You mean until he learned his lesson, right?" the other Council member, whose name was Daniel, said.

"Yes, yes, of course. Well, should we take them back, or what? He knows the combining spell, and he made an effective release spell. I swear, that boy is far too smart for his own good," Marthis said.

"I think, and most other Council members agree with me, that we should let him keep his powers, for now at least. He's still mostly loyal to the Grand Design, and the Elders aren't going to give him any more powers until he proves his loyalty to the Charmed Ones. It'd be in our best interest to leave him be. However, you are the leader of the Council, and ultimately what you say goes. But, please don't allow your dislike of the boy cloud your better judgment," Daniel replied.

"Very well. We leave him be. But, what of his renegade companion, Paul?" Marthis asked.

"You mean the one who Jerome forced into Purgatory? I say leave him. After all, he himself has yet to actually interfere in the Grand Design, and until he does we cannot justify any sort of punishment for him. Marissa, too, cannot be punished. She, of the three, has done the least," Daniel replied.

"Very well. You wisdom and insight is appreciated, and will be followed. For now, we watch," Marthis said.

Author's Note:

So, this is a shorter chapter, but gives a bit of insight into the Council's perspective. Just for the record, Daniel isn't going to be all too important. His main and possibly only role in my story is to be an adviser to Marthis, his voice of reason. I doubt he'll make much of an effect to the story. And off note, Karate Kid was only chosen because I know it's old enough that the sisters would have been relatively young when it came out. And just for the record, I'm talking about the old one, not the new Jaden Smith one. So, I haven't been getting very many reviews lately, and normally this wouldn't bother me too much, but recently I've been making fairly drastic changes to the story, so I'm worried that this means no one likes my changes and everyone has stopped reading this story, other than lizardmomma and wiccawhitewitchsmalltownguy. So, if you like the story and the changes, tell me so I don't get discouraged and give up. If you liked the story but not the new chapters because of the changes, tell me so I can try to fix it and salvage the story.


	11. Chapter 11

Alright, I got reviews and now I'm feeling pretty good. So, here's my next installment of this story. Oh, and to answer Slybrat's question, Jerome isn't too keen on emotion. This chapter will show a bit of that. And Paige is still desperately trying to deny that she's falling (or fallen, however you choose to look at it) for Jerome. However, the odds of them ending up together are pretty high, so eventually she will. Not for a while, however.

Chapter 11:

After the movie had ended, Paige was asleep. Phoebe guessed she was more tired than she had let on. Phoebe quietly called for Leo and, after had had Orbed in, asked him to Orb Paige to her bed. Leo did so, leaving Phoebe some free time. She had messed up at the interview in a spectacular fashion. She asked for flexible work hours, and was immediately shot down. She then made matters worse by mouthing off her potential employer, resulting in security escorting her out of the building. She then had to drive home in disgrace.

Phoebe tried to shove that memory out of her mind; there was no point in worrying about the past. Phoebe had plenty of time to herself, and while the Elders may have trusted Jerome, she did not. Phoebe wanted to know just who he really was, what he did, and what he plans on doing. And, most importantly of all, she needed to know why he trusted Paige but not her. Phoebe paused for a moment and thought to herself. Why did she care if he trusted her or not? Jerome was a supposedly omnipotent entity, and she was just a witch. She may have been a Charmed One, but what was that compared to an omnipotent entity like Jerome? But, then again, he trusted Paige. Paige was, if not equal to, then less powerful than Phoebe, due to Paige's lack of experience. Yet Paige had Jerome's trust. And Phoebe didn't. Phoebe needed to find out why.

Phoebe thought about how she could go about learning Jerome's motives. She could try another spell, one more carefully worded. Yes, that should work. Phoebe got to work writing a spell. After a few minutes of careful thinking, she came up with one. Phoebe wrote it down and read it. "I call upon the Power of Three to give to me the power to see that which Jerome knows, but carefully," Phoebe read. She felt her mind leave her body and rush towards Jerome. She stopped very near to Jerome's consciousness, but couldn't move any further. She wasn't trying to break in, just to sneak in and see. Phoebe tried to worm her way into Jerome's mind, but couldn't. After a while, Phoebe returned to her own body, wondering why her spell had failed. She thought for a minute, and decided that Jerome had probably cast a spell on himself to protect himself from unwanted mental invasions. Maybe if her sisters read the spell with her, she could get in. But, Piper wasn't going to try anything like that again, and Paige would never risk offending Jerome. She was head over heels for him, though she was desperately trying to deny it. Phoebe really hoped Paige got over her little crush. She didn't trust Jerome, and she didn't want her little sister getting hurt.

* * *

Jerome was wandering through the Himalayas, testing the extent of his new power. He was strong enough to crush a mountain and completely level it. He could also level another mountain with the debris from the first mountain. Jerome had also, in fact, gained telekinetic Orbing. Jerome also had enough power to shake and crack the Earth around him. Jerome even had enough power to move the mountain rubble and compress it back into a mountain. He was very pleased with the results.

* * *

The Elders, more specifically Odin and Sandra, were watching Jerome as he traveled the Himalayas. "He's incredibly powerful," Sandra commented.

"Too powerful. It seems we made a mistake in helping him gain his powers," Odin retorted.

"He only has one, and so far all we've seen him do with it is test it out, probably to see if it's as powerful as before. Besides, he saved Paige's life," Sandra said.

"Only because he wants to regain his powers! You saw the fight, as I did, and you know he isn't as friendly to the Charmed Ones as he acts. As soon as his powers are fully restored, he will turn on them," Odin said.

"You don't know that. And I very much doubt he would dare make a move against the Charmed Ones, or the greater good, until all of his powers are restored. All we have to do is keep restoring his powers, one or two at a time, slowly, until only one or two remain. Then we simply put the pricing for those powers at such a high level that the only way he could possibly hope to gain enough of our trust to get them back is for him to do something so good, that it ultimately converts him," Sandra said.

"I doubt that will ever happen. But I do agree that we should continue enticing him with his powers. For now, however, we watch," Odin said.

"Odin, watching him does us no good at all. We may as well let him be and focus on what we can influence," Sandra admonished.

"Very well," Odin replied.

* * *

Jerome, satisfied with his power, decided to return to the manor. He Orbed back, but he was intercepted. He reappeared in a field with nothing but grass for miles. He turned around, expecting Marthis. He saw Paul. "Paul? How did you escape Purgatory?" he asked.

"I Flashed out. Didn't think I'd ever figure that out, huh?" Paul taunted.

"Huh, so you opted on using Flashing, a power exclusive to our people and an insanely powerful form of teleportation. And, one of the only two powers able to access the Garden. Any reason you didn't try a more subtle one, like Orbing or Shimmering? Heck with it, even Dark Wisping would have been less conspicuous," Jerome replied.

"You're just jealous because you can't do that anymore!" Paul growled.

"Are you kidding me? I hate Flashing. The stupid blinding light it creates it just ridiculous. I much prefer Flickering, the other teleportation power exclusive to our people, and the only other way to enter the Garden," Jerome said.

Paul growled again. "I know what Flickering is! I'm sick of your stuck up attitude, just because you're the smartest out of you, Marissa, and me. Your powers are gone, and I'm going to find a way to destroy you!"

"Sounds more like you're just angry because I chucked you into Purgatory. Maybe you should go back to the Garden and just take some time to cool off," Jerome said.

That comment set Paul off. Paul ran at Jerome, ready to punch him. Jerome rolled his eyes and Shimmered out of the way. Paul fell down after trying to punch the empty air Jerome had been moments before. Jerome Shimmered behind Paul, who was on the ground. "You can't even hit a guy who's almost powerless. Pity," Jerome said.

Paul roared in fury and blasted Jerome with a massive fireball. The fireball destroyed Jerome's upper torso, leaving only his legs. Jerome began to reform, and after he had completely reformed Paul was dusting off his pants. Paul looked at Jerome, slightly surprised. Paul blasted lightning at Jerome. Jerome telekinetically redirected it. It worked, as Jerome thought it would, but it was extremely difficult, and Jerome could only redirect the lightning enough to keep it from hitting him. Paul thought he had missed. Which worked to Jerome's advantage. If Paul didn't know that Jerome had telekinesis back, then Jerome had an advantage. Jerome Orbed behind Paul and elbowed him at the base of the neck. Paul fell over. Jerome was about to Shimmer Paul to Purgatory again, but he saw someone Flicker in. Flickering looked just like it sounded; a person disappears then reappears several times, quickly, before finally appearing in the desired location. This method created no noise or light, but took longer due to the back and forth transporting. Jerome saw Marissa Flicker in.

"Jerome!" Marissa yelled. She ran up to hug Jerome, who stood there awkwardly. Marissa looked at Paul and said "Great. He tried to kill you, didn't he?"

Jerome nodded and looked at Marissa. She was young, by the standards of her people, and very, very beautiful. She had beautiful blue eyes and long, dark hair that flowed like a cascading waterfall. She was also fairly small. "What am I going to do with him?" Marissa asked herself. "Oh, well, I guess I'll send him back to the Garden." Marissa snapped her fingers and Paul was Flickered away.

"What are you doing here?" Jerome asked.

"Trying to find you. You're pretty tough to track, you know," Marissa replied.

"Hm. Are you here to try to convince me that I need to kill the Power of Three now and get my powers back later or that I've gone soft and am no longer fit to lead the mission?" Jerome asked.

"Neither." It was a rhetorical question, but Marissa answered anyway. "I'm just here to find you. Paul told me about what happened between you two. Personally, I think it's a really stupid reason to start a fight, but whatever. So, how have you been?" Marissa asked. Marissa showed obvious signs of infatuation, but Jerome was oblivious to them.

"I have to assist those I tried to destroy with next to no powers. I've been better. Sorry to cut this reunion short, but I need to get back. Paige is sick, and odds are her sisters are going to expect me to help take care of her. Feel free to stop by whenever the sisters aren't around," Jerome replied. Jerome then Orbed away, leaving Marissa to stand and think about just how clueless Jerome was.

Author's Note:

This was a more fun chapter to write. I still need a name for Jerome's people, since constantly referring to them as "his people" or "their people" and whatnot. Any suggestions at all would be appreciated, as well as anyone who wants to leave me a review telling me how good or bad this chapter and/or story is.


	12. Chapter 12

Well, Yello13 gave me a good idea for Jerome's people, and in a few chapters I'll implement some of them. If anyone else wants something implemented leave a review and I will definitely consider adding it in, assuming it doesn't contradict anything I've already done.

Chapter 12:

Jerome Orbed back to the manor, and immediately smelled something burning. He heard Piper yell from the kitchen and open the oven. Jerome walked into the kitchen and saw Piper take out a burnt pizza from the oven. "Trouble cooking?" Jerome asked.

Piper jumped. "Don't do that! And no, I'm not having any cooking problems! I was just a bit distracted with Paige. She's gotten worse. Her fever is so high that we had to submerge her in a tub of freezing water to cool her down. She didn't take it too well," Piper said.

"Great. So, what do you want me to do?" Jerome asked. The way he asked it, with a sense of duty and a lack of caring or compassion, irritated Piper. He seemed to be under the impression that taking care of a sick Paige was just a job that he had to get over with.

"You can start by helping Phoebe while I try to get something edible made," Piper said. Jerome turned and walked up the stairs. He heard the sound of a struggle coming from the bathroom and turned to see Paige in a tub full of ice water, struggling to get out, and Phoebe trying really hard to keep her in.

"Paige, you have to stay in here for a few more minutes. Otherwise, your dangerously high fever won't go down. Please, calm down," Phoebe said soothingly to Paige. Paige stopped struggling and seemed to calm down. Jerome knocked on the door frame to alert Phoebe to his presence.

Phoebe turned and looked, giving Jerome a look that said "What do you want?"

"Piper sent me to help," Jerome said.

"Well, you can start by getting Paige some warm clothes to get into when she's done in the ice tub," Phoebe said.

Jerome hesitated. "It's late enough in the day that I'd be willing to risk healing her. Sleep restores the body's energy miraculously fast," Jerome said.

Paige looked up, excited. But Phoebe shook her head. "No, we are perfectly capable of taking care of our sister without using your powers." Paige looked a bit angry, but wisely stayed quiet.

"I suggest you think about it first. I'm not offering again," Jerome said. Jerome left to get warm clothes for Paige. He quickly decided that looking for any would take him too long; he had no idea how mortals, yet alone women, organized their clothing. He telekinetically Orbed some warm clothes and brought them to Phoebe. Phoebe took them, and then told him to leave. Jerome obeyed.

Jerome waited outside the bathroom door. He heard Phoebe and Paige arguing about him healing Paige. It seemed that Phoebe was winning. Then Jerome heard Paige have a small sneezing fit, along with several arguments about revealing magic afterwords. Eventually Phoebe ended the argument by saying that they'd ask Piper about it and see what she thinks. Paige seemed to agree, though somewhat reluctantly. Phoebe led a fully dressed Paige back to her bedroom. Paige seemed to have difficulty walking on her own, since Phoebe was holding her up and was practically carrying her.

Phoebe got Paige into her bed, and almost immediately Piper entered Paige's room. "Dinner's ready, do you want me to bring it up here?" Piper asked.

"Tell her!" Paige encouraged Phoebe.

"Tell me what?" Piper asked.

"Uh, Jerome offered to heal Paige, but he's only making this offer tonight," Phoebe said.

"And you haven't accepted yet? Get him in here," Piper said.

"Well, I don't trust him and we are more than capable of taking care of her," Phoebe said.

"Well, what if a demon attacks? I wouldn't put it past the Source to attack now, when we're vulnerable. And if the Source attacks, we'll need the Power of Three to vanquish him," Piper said.

"Well, yeah, but..." Phoebe stuttered.

"She's stuttering," Paige said.

"Yep. Jerome! Come heal Paige!" Piper yelled.

"So, you decided to take me up on my offer after all. Fine, give me some space," Jerome said as he entered Paige's room.

"Wait, first I have a question for you. How do you plan on healing Paige if you don't have that power?" Phoebe asked.

"I can still use those powers, they just consume a lot of my body's energy. I was going to expend my own energy, tonight only, and use it to heal Paige. Hopefully dinner and a good nights sleep will restore most of the energy I'm going to lose healing her," Jerome replied.

"Yeah, okay, heal her," Piper said. Jerome pointed his hand at Paige and shot a blast of golden light at her from the palm of his hand. After a few seconds, Jerome collapsed. Piper went to check on Jerome while Phoebe observed Paige.

"So, how are you feeling?" Phoebe asked.

"Much, much better. I've never seen anyone heal like that, though," Paige replied.

"Well, he's a powerful guy. Leo couldn't heal you, but he could. I guess that's why it looks different," Phoebe replied.

Jerome stirred. His eyes opened, and he said "You're welcome." He tried standing, but couldn't do it on his own. Piper had to help him up.

Paige was about to thank him, when she sneezed. Once she Orbed back in, she asked Jerome "Why am I still sneezing? I thought you healed me."

"I did, but it took too much energy. I wasn't able to completely heal you. You basically have a bad cold now, instead of that horribly nasty fever you had before," Jerome replied. "Now, what's for dinner?"

Piper and Phoebe had to help Jerome down the stairs into the kitchen. Paige followed, sniffling the whole way down. "I think you actually made my sinuses worse," Paige complained.

"Odds are, the fever and all the other stuff was your body prioritizing what afflictions to deal with first, and after I healed those afflictions your body focused on your sinuses," Jerome said.

"Besides, beats being unable to walk and having such a high fever that we had to bathe you in ice water," Piper said. Paige stuck her tongue out at her.

They finished dinner about an hour later. Piper had to make several more pizzas, since Jerome seemed like a bottomless pit at the time. He single-handedly ate three full sized pizzas and about half of several others. The halves were because Piper told him to leave some for the rest of them. Jerome said it was due to all the energy he used healing Paige. Paige looked guilty, but tried to hide it. Neither Piper nor Phoebe noticed, but Jerome did. "I chose to use my energy to heal you. Don't feel guilty about it, it was my choice," Jerome said to Paige. Paige looked surprised and said nothing. Piper and Phoebe likewise said nothing.

Author's Note:

Shorter chapter, but I'm a bit dry on ideas. Any and all ideas for the next chapter would and will be greatly appreciated.


	13. Chapter 13

Well, I had an idea. Jerome was sent to help the Charmed Ones, and so far all he's really done is help take care of Paige. The Council definitely didn't send him there for stuff like that, so this chapter will focus on a few demons, specifically one demon that I made up. Oh, I've incorporated some of Yello13's idea in this chapter. Jerome's brother.

Chapter 13:

Jerome decapitated another demon. That was the sixth one that day. None of the sisters had had to get involved. These demons wanted the Charmed Ones, but they got an invincible swordsman. Jerome nodded, relatively pleased. If demons kept on attacking at this rate, he will have helped the sisters enough to gain back all of his powers by the end of the year. No, scratch that. It was December. He'd have them back by August of next year.

Jerome suddenly found himself in the middle of the Sahara. Again. He turned around and saw Marthis, glaring at him. Jerome was convinced that Marthis' face was permanently stuck like that. "What do you think you're going here, boy?" Marthis asked.

"I'm helping the Charmed Ones, like you said I had to," Jerome replied.

"No, you're doing their job for them! It is part of the Grand Design for the Charmed Ones to kill all those demons, not you! You were sent to help them, not replace them!" Marthis yelled.

"Vanquish," Jerome said.

"What?"

"They don't kill, they vanquish," Jerome said.

"Whatever! The point is, you need to stop doing the job of the Charmed Ones and let them do it themselves. That's what they were chosen to do!" Marthis said.

"How am I supposed to help them if I can't fight?" Jerome asked.

"You can't do their job; you can still fight. You need to act as a guide, and only fight to protect their lives. The Grand Architect did not plan for any of them to die, and now because of what you've done, the Angel of Death is constantly having to report to us that the Charmed Ones are suddenly on his list, then off, then on, then off again. You need to keep them alive, but let them do their job," Marthis said.

"Fine. I will let them vanquish the seemingly endless supply of demons that keep coming after them," Jerome replied. "May I leave now?"

"No. Your brother and Daniel have requested that I help you by telling you that soon a demon who drains confidence will attack the Charmed Ones. You can't kill it, unless the Charmed Ones' lives are in danger. Now you may leave," Marthis said. Marthis Flashed away. Jerome Orbed back to the manor, deciding that he'll deal with the confidence sucker when it strikes.

Jerome Orbed to his bedroom. He thought for a minute. His brother. Benjamin. His brother who was chosen as a member of the Council, and not him. Jerome was considerably smarter than his younger brother, yet his brother was chosen to be on the Council, to lead their people. And he wasn't. When that happened, roughly six or seven hundred Earth years ago, Jerome made a decision. He decided that the Council was full of cowards and fools. They were too afraid to use their power and refused to allow anyone else to do so. They were too afraid of messing up the Grand Design to risk interfering. They never once thought that maybe they were a part of the Grand Design, and that maybe they were meant to interfere. Jerome decided at that moment that he was going to stop them. He was going to overthrow the Council, and use his power to help the Grand Design. To protect it, and improve it.

Jerome had only a few minutes to dwell on these thoughts before Paige knocked on his door. "Are you in there?" she asked.

"Yeah. Come in, if you want," Jerome replied.

Paige opened the door and walked in, sniffling. It had been a few days since Jerome had tried to heal Paige, and while most of the symptoms of her illness were gone, any sinus problems only seemed to get worse. Paige seemed to be okay with it, though she hadn't been able to go to work because of the sneeze Orbing. "Piper just realized that it's December, and she and Phoebe were going to go get a Christmas tree. I can't, obviously, but I thought maybe you'd like to go?" Paige asked, somewhat nervously.

"Pass. I never really understood holidays," Jerome said.

Paige looked shocked. "Wait, so you've never celebrated Christmas, or Halloween, or Thanksgiving, or any of those other holidays?" she asked.

"No."

"Well, that's just plain wrong! I mean, I guess some people don't celebrate Christmas, and some people think Halloween is evil, though they've never fought demons, clearly, and-" Paige was cut off.

"You're rambling," Jerome interrupted.

"Sorry. But, still. You can't just not celebrate those holidays; it's just-"

"Wrong. I know, you already said that. What am I supposed to do about it, though?" Jerome said.

"Well, you celebrate Christmas with us!" Paige said.

"I was sent to help, not celebrate," Jerome replied.

"Then help us celebrate Christmas!" Paige demanded.

"There's no way I can change your mind?"

"Nope."

"Not even if I said that my people do not celebrate holidays?"

"Well, then I'd say your people are really missing out, and that you deserve the privilege of experiencing the joy of holidays," Paige said. Jerome sighed and relented, though he didn't want to go with Piper or Phoebe. With Marthis' warning from his brother and Daniel, Jerome didn't want any of the Charmed Ones left alone. If one of them died, he's never gain his powers back.

Piper and Phoebe asked Paige to get out some of the Christmas decorations and said she could go ahead and put some up. Leo was with some of his other charges, though he had managed to convince the Elders to give him Christmas Eve and Christmas day off. Cole was off doing demonic Cole things. Probably trying to somehow trick the demonic community into thinking he was dead so he could get all of the bounty hunters off his back.

Paige asked, or told, Jerome to help her put up some decorations. Jerome agreed, thinking the whole time that it was a waste of time. Paige went a little overboard and put up everything she could find, other than the tree ornaments. Jerome had a strong feeling that Piper and Phoebe were going to remove a few of the decorations.

Jerome was slightly mistaken. They didn't take down any decorations; a demon did. Paige had just put up the last decoration when a demon Shimmered into the living room. The demon threw a fireball a Paige. Jerome jumped in the way of the fireball and took it to the chest. It left a gaping hole, which quickly healed itself. The demon looked in shock, muttered something about needing more power, and Shimmered away.

Paige had turned around after hearing the fireball hit Jerome, and saw the demon leave. "What just happened?" Paige asked.

"A demon attacked. It seems I scared it away by regenerating my body," Jerome replied. Jerome looked at the spot the demon had stood, and saw a medallion. "Looks like it left that thing behind," Jerome said, pointing to the medallion. "You could probably use it to scry for the demon."

"O-oh, okay," Paige said. She seemed a bit shaken. Jerome figured that was to be expected, considering how new she was at the whole demon thing, and that she was attacked and was very nearly killed. Jerome turned around and saw that a lot of the decorations that were hanging around him had been burnt. Jerome figured it was due to the fireball. He guessed that some of the fireball's splash effect burned them down. Jerome quickly Shimmered up to the attic, where Paige was scrying for the demon.

She seemed to sense he was in the room, because she said "I think the demon's in the Underworld; I can't find it anywhere."

"Why don't you let me try scrying? You mix up a vanquishing potion," Jerome said.

"Uh, can we swap jobs? And I don't know what the demon that attacked us looked like, so I won't be able to find it in the Book," Paige said.

"Just put some beetle toe and mandrake root together in a potion and mix it together. Those together should give the potion enough power to destroy that demon," Jerome replied. The scrying crystal latched onto a place on the map. "Found him. He's at a gym. Let's go," Jerome said. Without waiting for an answer, Jerome grabbed Paige and Shimmered to the gym.

Author's Note:

Well, I didn't really want to end here, but the chapter needed at least one break in it. Otherwise it would be unnaturally long. Please leave a review so I feel motivated to get the next chapter out. Any and all reviews will be appreciated, especially if they're in compliment form.


	14. Chapter 14

Here's part two of the demon thing. Enjoy.

Chapter 14:

Jerome and Paige Shimmered into a gym. Paige looked pretty nauseous. "Why couldn't we have Orbed?" she asked.

"Shimmering is more subtle. I don't want that demon knowing we're here," Jerome replied. Jerome looked around. Most of the people in the gym were either crying in a corner or staring apprehensively at some exercise equipment.

"This seems like a pretty wimpy gym," Paige commented.

"It's like all their confidence was sucked away," Jerome noted. Jerome saw a flash of light out of the corner of his eye. He turned to look, and saw the demon from before, sucking what looked like some kind of energy out of a very buff man. The demon seemed to grow in strength and somewhat in size as he sucked the energy out of the man. The demon stopped, and the man screamed and ran away.

Jerome nudged Paige and directed her to the demon. She saw the demon and threw her potion at him. It hit the demon, but it had no effect. The demon turned to look at Jerome and Paige. He grinned. "Well, looks like I get to kill you today after all. Here I was, thinking that I'd have to try to lure you out of your house now, away from your sisters, and yet here you are! Practically delivered to me by this gentleman," the demon said, directing his words to Paige.

"Who are you, and what did you do to all these people?" Paige demanded.

"Who am I? Well, I usually go by the name Archimaes, but if you want you can call me Master, Lord, O Great One, and I'm particularly fond of Please Have Mercy On Me," Paige frowned. Jerome rolled his eyes. Archimaes didn't notice. "As for what I did, well I drained them of their confidence. You see, confidence is a form of energy, a type of power. I can drain this power, this energy, and use it to increase my own power. These people, without their confidence, are nothing more than sniveling weaklings, too scared to do anything," Archimaes said. He smiled a toothy smile and swept his black hair to the left. His toothy smile never quite made it to his yellow eyes, though.

"Why do you want all this confidence, all this power?" Jerome said.

"The Source has given me the task of killing the Charmed Ones, since Belthazor failed. However, from past demons' failures I've learned that in order to beat the Charmed Ones, I'd need a lot of power. So, here I am, getting more power," Archimaes replied. "And now, I'm going to kill you."

Archimaes threw a fireball at Paige. Paige shouted "Fireball!" and flung her hand at Archimaes. The fireball disappeared and reappeared in a flurry of Orbs, and hurtled towards Archimaes. Archimaes deflected the fireball with his bare hands, causing the fireball to hit and destroy a treadmill. The people all began screaming and running around. They shoved and pushed everyone, including Paige, Jerome, and Archimaes.

"I think it's a it too crowded in here. Meet me in my lair so we can finish this. Don't keep me waiting," Archimaes said. He smiled and Shimmered away. Jerome grabbed Paige and did the same.

Paige and Jerome appeared in the manor, standing in the entryway. Paige looked nauseous, again. "Well, that was a failure. If we head into his lair, he'll be waiting. And he'll be ready," Jerome said.

"Well, we can get Piper and Phoebe to come and use a Power of Three spell to vanquish him. That'd work, right?" Paige asked.

"Except he's waiting for us, and will probably just kill one of you before any of you can utter a single syllable," Jerome said.

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," Paige said, sarcastically.

"However," Jerome said, ignoring Paige's comment "if you and your sisters go to the Underworld now and scout out the area around Archimaes' lair, then you might be able to find a good area to cast a Power of Three spell and vanquish Archimaes before he gets a chance to attack you."

"Why wait for Piper and Phoebe? You and I can go scout the area now, and then when Piper and Phoebe get back we'll already know where to go," Paige said.

"That's a pretty bad idea. If we're caught without the Power of Three, we can't vanquish the demon. We'd be captured and either killed or used as bait for your sisters," Jerome replied.

"Can't you just vanquish the demon if that happens?" Paige asked.

"No, I am under strict orders not to vanquish any demons for you. I can help you, but I can only vanquish to save your lives. And even then, I need to be careful," Jerome replied.

"Well, if you're so worried about getting captured then maybe I'll just go alone," Paige said.

"Absolutely not," Jerome said.

"Then you'd better come with me, because I'm going," Paige said. Jerome tried to stop her, but once Paige made up her mind there was no changing it. Jerome relented, and Shimmered them to the Underworld, near, but not in, Archimaes lair.

The area was made entirely of stone, and seemed to glow a faint, eery red. Paige held her head after Shimmering, but seemed better about it. She then sneezed and, as expected, Orbed. Jerome looked around to see if any demons heard or sensed that. Luckily none did. "Are you sure you're feeling up to this?" Jerome asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Paige replied. She sniffed a few times.

"Are you sure? Maybe we should wait for your sisters and have them scout out the area, then get you when they're ready for Archimaes," Jerome said.

"I'm fine, I can handle it," Paige said.

"Are you absolutely sure? On top of you not feeling well, any demons may have an easy time finding us. They may just follow the trail of snot you'll leave," Jerome said.

Paige looked disgusted. "First of all, ew. And second of all, yes, for the last time, I'm fine," Paige snapped.

Jerome in reply led Paige down a corridor. He knew that Archimaes' lair was right behind the wall on is right; he was trying to find some kind of entryway or crack or other flaw. As they rounded a corner, Jerome saw a huge opening. Jerome figured this was the main entrance to Archimaes' lair. Jerome suddenly felt himself shoved into the lair. He saw Paige get shoved by the same unseen force. He then heard laughter.

"Well, looks like I'm not worth the Power of Three. I'm not even worth two. Only one witch, and she's not even the most experienced one. How insulting. All she has with her is some guy who isn't Charmed. I don't even think he's a witch, either. How disrespectful," Archimaes voice came from the ceiling.

"Show yourself!" Jerome yelled.

Archimaes appeared in front of Jerome and Paige. "Well, someone's got some nerve to call to me like that. Maybe I'll kill you first," he said. He conjured up a fireball and threw it at Jerome. Jerome took the hit in the chest. The fireball left a huge, gaping hole. The hole regenerated itself a few seconds later.

Archimaes frowned. "Now, what was that? I thought I had enough power to kill you. I guess I was wrong. Well, I'll just kill the Charmed One. I'll deal with you, mystery man, later," Archimaes said. Archimaes conjured a fireball and threw it at Paige. Paige redirected it with her Orbs and threw it back at him. The fireball hit him in the shoulder, leaving a nasty wound. Archimaes growled in pain.

"Well, you do have some fight in you. And so much confidence, despite your lack of experience. Too much confidence, I'd say. Let me take some of that confidence away for you," Archimaes said. He held up his right hand and aimed it at Paige. A light came from Paige and channeled itself into Archimaes' hand. Archimaes began to glow, and his wound healed. The light died down a few seconds later and Paige looked like she had lost every ounce of confidence she had.

Paige looked terrified. "Now, let me finish you off," Archimaes said. He conjured a fireball and threw it at Paige. Paige did nothing other than stare in fear at the fireball.

Jerome, however, wasn't about to let Paige die. He had a job to do, and he had every intention of doing it. He leapt in front of the fireball, took the hit, and, after he regenerated from the fireball, telekinetically threw Archimaes at the back wall. "Get out of here, Paige!" Jerome yelled. "Find your sisters, get them to help you! I'll hold him off for as long as I can!"

Paige hesitated, and eventually said "I can't! I can't leave you, and there's no way I'd be able to find my sisters, let alone convince them to help. And even if somehow they do help, we'll never vanquish Archimaes!"

Archimaes got up and laughed. "Well, Mr. Indestructible, it seems that without her confidence she can't do anything. Might as well give up," he said.

Jerome refused to admit defeat, and since he could still think of ways to save the sisters and help them vanquish Archimaes, he couldn't risk doing it himself. He tried to Remote Orb Paige to the manor, but found that his Orbs were blocked. He looked at Archimaes, who threw a large fireball at him. Jerome took the hit and, after having regenerated, telekinetically threw Archimaes against the wall again. Jerome figured that Archimaes had some kind of anti-Orb barrier around his lair, so Jerome telekinetically threw Paige out of the lair and, after a quick apology, Remote Orbed her to the manor. This time the attempt was successful. Archimaes got back up and used his own telekinesis to throw Jerome against the wall. Jerome was slammed against the wall hard, and hit his head in a way that would kill anyone else. In Jerome's case, however, it merely knocked him out, leaving him at the mercy of Archimaes.

Author's Note:

Yeah, action chapter! So, I have a feeling that the whole Archimaes saga is going to take up three or four chapters (total, not more), which means that there will be one or two more chapters on this and then I get into some other stuff. Any and all ideas for the other stuff would be greatly appreciated, as I have next to no ideas. I do want to include more about Jerome's people, and some that will be some of what Yello13 suggested. Any more suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Any other reviews from people who have issues with this chapter/story, or who want to praise this chapter/story will be greatly appreciated.


	15. Chapter 15

Alright, here's another chapter in the Archimaes saga. I've noticed that the reviews have slowed down a good bit. Now, this isn't a huge problem, but I am quite fond of having at least a two-to-one ration of reviews to chapters. I like having twice as many reviews as chapters. I know, it's a bit of a frivolous desire. And a rather unnecessary one, but please help me keep this ratio up and review.

Chapter 15:

Jerome woke up chained to the wall. He tried Orbing and Shimmering, but couldn't. It felt like he was being held back, possibly by the chains. Jerome tried using his telekinesis, but found that that power didn't work either. He looked around and saw Archimaes with his back turned to Jerome. Jerome struggled against the chains, trying to break free. Archimaes seemed to hear the chains rattling and turned around. He looked at Jerome and said "That won't work." His usual tone of voice was gone. He sounded cruel, bitter, and angry.

"What?" Jerome asked.

"Those chains won't break. They also inhibit your active powers. And, to add insult to injury, you can't leave this lair except by the front entrance. No Orbing, Shimmering, Flaming, Blinking, anything. You're stuck here, and since I can't kill you no matter how hard I try, you're my prisoner. The Charmed Ones will try to save you, and when they do, they're dead. Now, I hope you enjoy your stay," Archimaes said. Archimaes walked to a corner and turned invisible.

* * *

Paige appeared in the manor, crying and in shock. Piper and Phoebe were back, and they were putting up a Christmas tree in the living room. Paige appeared right behind them, but they were so busy that they didn't notice. Paige lacked the confidence to interrupt her sisters, and stayed silent. Eventually Phoebe turned around and saw Paige sitting on the floor in the middle of the room, crying. "Paige! What's wrong? Where's Jerome?" Phoebe asked.

Piper turned around at the mention of Paige's name and saw Paige crying. "Oh, honey! What happened?" she asked.

Paige eventually spoke up. "A-a demon attacked me, and Jerome and I followed him to a gym, then to his lair, and he attacked Jerome and Jerome sent me here and Jerome got captured!" Paige said, crying again at the end.

"Are you okay, Paige? You seem a bit...off," Piper said.

"Piper!" Phoebe snapped.

"What? She does," Piper replied.

"I-I'm not hurt, but the demon has Jerome!" Paige said. "And there's nothing we can do about it! He'll kill us."

"Paige, honey, what are you talking about? We can ID the demon, make a vanquishing potion, go vanquish him, and save your boyfriend," Piper said. Phoebe shot Piper a look that Piper ignored. Piper was trying to get a more Paige-like response from her youngest sister, and she figured goading her like that would do it.

"No, we can't! He's too powerful, we'll never save Jerome! And Jerome would never want me, anyway! I'm not good enough for him, I'll never be good enough for anyone!" Paige wailed.

Piper turned to Phoebe. "What's wrong with her? She's not usually like this. In fact, she's never like this," Piper said.

"I know," Phoebe replied. "It's like she has no courage, no self-esteem, no confidence, nothing. Maybe the demon did something to her?"

"Paige, sweety, did the demon do anything to you, anything at all?" Piper asked.

"Well, he shot a weird beam at me that made me feel really bad, insecure, and unsure of myself," Paige replied.

"I'll bet the demon sucked her confidence out of her," Phoebe said.

"I-I think he said that he drains confidence to gain power. A-and he also said that his name is Archimaes, I think. Oh, I don't remember well enough! Why am I so useless?" Paige screamed.

"Okay, we've gotta do something about her, and fast," Piper said. "I'm not sure how much more of this I can take."

"I'll go check the Book," Phoebe said.

"Great, and I'll call Leo and see what he knows," Piper said.

"What about me? Is there anything I can do? I doubt it, I'll probably just mess it up. I'm so useless!" Paige said.

"Okay, here's something you can do: shut up," Piper said. Paige just nodded. Piper sighed. Normally Paige would come back with some witty retort or give Piper the what she like to call the "Paige face of incredulity," which generally consisted of Paige opening her mouth wide in shock and giving Piper a rather dirty look. But this Paige just nodded.

Piper went into the kitchen and called for Leo. He Orbed into the kitchen and asked "What is it?"

"Demon that drains confidence drained Paige. Elders. Now," Piper ordered. Leo, knowing better than to argue with his wife, Orbed Up There to talk to the Elders. Piper then went upstairs to Phoebe to see what she had found out.

It turned out that Phoebe found quite a bit. Archimaes actually had almost three pages in the Book dedicated to him. The book said that he was an Upper level demon and drained confidence from mortals, witches, warlocks, and other demons to increase his own power. It also said that he lacked the ability to drain confidence from other magical creatures and animals, so Jerome was safe. Piper sighed in relief at that. Jerome was incredibly powerful; with all that power great confidence must come. The Book also said that the only way to vanquish him is a Power of Three spell and that there were only two ways to restore someone's confidence after it had been stolen. Either vanquish Archimaes or get Archimaes to restore the confidence. Since Piper doubted that Archimaes would ever give back Paige's confidence, she was going to go with vanquishing.

Leo Orbed into the attic about the time Piper finished reading Archimaes' last page. "The Elders may have a spell that can give Paige a boost in confidence, but you'll need to convince her to read it," he said.

"Fine. Go get the spell, and I'll go talk Paige into reading something," Piper said.

"I'll go with you, Piper," Phoebe said.

Piper and Phoebe walked downstairs to the living room, where Paige hadn't moved at all. "Hey, do you think you can read something for us?" Piper asked Paige.

"W-what? No, I can't do that! What if I mess up?" Paige asked, stressing out.

"Relax, honey. It's just something small for you to read out loud. I have complete confidence in your reading ability. You can do it," Phoebe said, soothingly.

Paige seemed to calm down a bit. "Well, if you say so," she relented.

Piper turned to Phoebe. "No confidence Paige may be a nuisance, but she's not nearly as stubborn as normal Paige," Piper muttered. Phoebe said nothing.

Leo Orbed into the living room with a piece of paper in his hand. He handed it to Paige who, after being prompted and encouraged by Phoebe, read it. "A boost of morale I do commence, give me back some confidence," she read. Paige began to glow golden and, once the light died down, looked more confident than ever.

"I feel great! Let's go vanquish Archimaes! Let's go right now, I can take him with one hand tied behind my back!" Paige said.

"Calm down, missy," Piper said. She turned to Phoebe and said "I think that confidence spell worked too well."

"Maybe a personal gain side effect?" Phoebe said.

"The Elders gave us that spell, why would there be personal gain involved?" Piper asked.

"They don't know everything," Phoebe said. Piper and Phoebe turned back to Paige, who was trying to Orb herself around the living room. She kept messing up and breaking furniture.

"Paige! What are you doing?" Piper asked.

"Just Orbing. I can get it this time!" Paige tried to Orb again, and again messed up.

"Well, let's just worry about Archimaes first," Phoebe said.

Piper turned to Phoebe. "Are you crazy? Shouldn't we fix her first?" Piper asked.

"I'd rather have her go against a demon bursting with confidence than completely drained of it," Phoebe said.

"Fine!" Piper relented.

"So, are we gonna go get Archimaes? I can take us to his lair!" Paige said.

"No!" Piper quickly said. "We, uh, need Leo to Orb us so you can save all your energy for Archimaes. After all, without you reading the spell there's no way we can ever vanquish him."

Paige agreed, then sneezed. When she Orbed back, Phoebe said "Are you sure you're up to it, Paige?"

"Of course I'm sure! Let's get going, Leo!" Paige demanded. Leo Orbed them into the Underworld, right outside of Archimaes' lair.

Paige just stormed in, shouting out for Archimaes. She saw Jerome, walked towards him, then was hit in the shoulder by a low-voltage energy ball. Archimaes walked out of the shadows where he was hiding. "Well, well. It looks like you decided to come back. How noble. Unfortunately, your time is up!" Archimaes said. Archimaes built up a huge fireball and reared up to throw it.

Piper and Phoebe saw him just in time to stop him. Piper tried to blow him up. It didn't work, but it did hurt him and send him flying. It also caused the fireball to disappear. "Paige, come read the spell! We need you!" Piper said.

Paige ran over to her sisters and read the spell with them. "Power of Three, we call upon thee," they chanted, "to take this evil power and use all its confidence to itself devour!" Archimaes started burning and, after a few seconds of burning, exploded, vanquished. Jerome's chains magically disappeared, releasing Jerome.

Paige started boasting, leading to Jerome's asking "What's up with her? Last I saw, she lacked any confidence."

"We got her to cast a confidence spell on herself. Now she's overly cocky and rather full of herself," Piper said.

"Let me reverse it," Jerome said. "This morale do recompense, return her borrowed confidence." Paige glowed again and, after the light faded, seemed to be normal. At least, normal for Paige. She still remembered being a wuss and an overconfident nuisance, so she was pretty embarrassed. Jerome and Leo Orbed themselves and the girls back to the manor.

Author's Note:

Well, that's the end of Archimaes. What did you guys think of the whole confidence demon saga? Did you like it? Hate it? Felt somewhat annoyed by it? Please, feel free to give me feedback. I like feedback, even when it's in a ramble form. I'd also appreciate any idea for the future. Especially if those ideas incorporate Jerome's people in them. I'm still trying to think of a good way to include more info about Jerome's people. So, once again, please leave a review about my story.


	16. Chapter 16

Am I updating these chapters too fast? I feel like I am. I usually write a chapter after watching an episode of Charmed or two, so I'm in the Charmed mindset. Since I watch Charmed pretty much everyday, I end up updating every couple of days. If this is too fast I can slow down how quickly I update these chapters. It'll mean I have more chapters waiting, so I'll be including less reader ideas, but it also means less rushing to read everything I've posted. Oh, well. I'll probably end up slowing down a bit when I finish the series and start at season 1. This story has Paige as a pretty major character, and without any Paige I may be a bit slower than usual. As it is I'm having difficulty channeling season 4 Paige when I'm watching season 8. So, since I just Paige rambled, I think I'll awkwardly let you read the chapter now.

Chapter 16:

It had been a few days since the sisters had vanquished Archimaes. Piper had told Paige and Jerome that there seemed to be some kind of unspoken truce between demons and witches around Christmas time. Demons left innocents and witches alone during Christmas, and witches used the time to be with their families. According to Piper, that time started around the fourteenth or fifteenth and ended on New Year's Day. It was the sixteenth. Demons were done attacking. This knowledge allowed to sisters to relax, though Phoebe and Piper had a harder time relaxing with Jerome around. Phoebe especially had a difficult time enjoying herself. Paige had made a full recovery from her cold and, after she had successfully gone two full days without sneezing, had returned to work. Jerome had nothing to do, which left him way too much time to think.

Phoebe, since she had no job, was at the manor with Jerome quite a bit. They didn't trust each other, or Phoebe didn't trust Jerome. Jerome didn't really seem to trust anyone other than Paige. Cole had been busy on and off, so Phoebe hadn't seen much of him. It was just she and Jerome, all day almost everyday. Jerome kept to himself, and Phoebe kept to herself. As a result, the manor was very quiet during the days, and when Paige or Piper got home the silence was almost shocking. "Hello?" Piper asked one day, after coming back from P3. "Is anyone here?"

"Yeah, I'm in here!" Phoebe called from the kitchen.

Piper walked into the kitchen and asked "Where's Jerome?"

"I dunno. Upstairs I think," Phoebe replied while reading the newspaper from the kitchen table.

"You two have been here all day, and you don't even know where he is?" Piper asked.

Phoebe took a drink of something from a mug. Piper assumed it was hot chocolate. After all, 'tis the season. Phoebe put the mug down and said "Nope. He keeps to himself. He could be in Zimbabwe for all I know."

"So, you trust him now?" Piper asked.

"No, of course not! What gave you that idea?"

"Well, I figured that you'd keep a closer eye on him if you didn't trust him. Since you've essentially given him free reign to do anything he wants, I figured you trusted him," Piper replied.

"I don't trust him alone with me. He might be working with demons or maybe he has some kind of ulterior agenda that we don't know about, and it may include killing the Power of Three," Phoebe said.

"Phoebe, I think if Jerome wanted one of us dead we'd be dead by now. Besides, he can't hurt us without running the risk of never getting his powers back again. And if he did want to hurt us, why would he have saved Paige from Archimaes a few days ago? Wouldn't it have been easier to let Archimaes kill her and make it look like he tried to stop him but couldn't?" Piper asked.

"Well, uh, maybe he's biding his time?" Phoebe said with a complete lack of confidence.

"Yeah, well, if that were the case, wouldn't it make more sense for you to get him to like us and change his mind about killing us later?" Piper asked, somewhat annoyed by her little sister's paranoia.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so," Phoebe said.

"Well, since you have like a week more with him, alone, why don't you try to find out more about him?" Piper asked. "And maybe get him to like us so he doesn't feel any desire to kill us when he gets his powers back."

"Well, I, uh, maybe I could, uh..." Phoebe stuttered.

"Do you plan on finishing any of those sentences?" Piper asked.

"Uh, no, not really," Phoebe said. "Where's Paige?"

"Nice. Very subtle change of subject," Piper said sarcastically. "I don't know, why?"

"She said she was on her way home like an hour ago. I figured she'd be back by now," Phoebe said, worry starting to creep into her voice.

"Hey, no worrying! That's my job. Besides, she probably just ran into some really bad traffic on the way home," Piper replied.

And then, right on cue, Paige opened the front door and walked in, saying "Sorry I'm so late, traffic was awful."

"Told you," Piper said.

"Huh?" Paige asked.

"Nothing, don't worry about," Phoebe said. Paige just shrugged and went upstairs.

"Hey, where are you going missy?" Phoebe asked.

Paige came halfway back down the stairs. "I thought that since Jerome has barely left the house, as far as I know, since he crashed into our kitchen, well, other than when Archimaes attacked, that he might want to go look around the city. Maybe have dinner and see the sights," Paige said.

"Wait, are you asking him out?" Phoebe asked.

"No, not asking him out, just taking him to see the area, and maybe get to know him better," Paige replied, trying really hard not to blush or let embarrassment seep into her voice. It worked.

"Paige, I think that counts as asking him out," Piper said.

"Paige, no! I really don't think that's a good idea. In fact, it seems like a terrible idea to me," Phoebe said.

"I disagree," Piper said, much to everyone's surprise. "I think that Paige has a better chance of getting Jerome to open up than anyone else in this house. And Phoebe, if she can get Jerome to open up then it may make your next week considerably easier and more enjoyable. I say go for it."

"But what if she needs us?" Phoebe asked.

"Um, hello? I'm twenty-five, I can take care of myself. Besides, Jerome will be there, and in case you haven't noticed, he's kind of invincible," Paige said.

"Exactly. If anything, she's safer out with him than here with us," Piper said.

"Well, what if we need her? What if a demon attacks?" Phoebe asked.

"Phoebe, both Paige and myself have been gone all day. And this definitely wouldn't be the first time that one of us has left on a date, nor will it be the last. We'll be fine, Phoebe. Stop worrying, like I said, that's my job," Piper said.

"Well, you're doing a pretty lousy job of it," Phoebe retorted, more in jest and an attempt to make her look somewhat better.

"So, can I take Jerome out or not?" Paige asked.

"Aha! So it is a date!" Phoebe said triumphantly. Then she realized the implications of that and lost her triumphant feeling.

"Yes, Paige. You can take Jerome out. Have fun, and don't come back until you've learned something about him," Piper said.

"Is she serious?" Paige asked Phoebe.

"I have no idea. You'd better learn something about him just in case. And make sure it's good, otherwise you may not have anywhere to sleep tonight," Phoebe replied. Paige looked apprehensive as she walked up the stairs to change into something less formal and ask Jerome if he wanted to go out. But not on a date. At least, not in Paige's mind.

Author's Note:

Well, I kind of enjoyed writing this chapter. More so than other chapters. So, any thoughts on how Jerome and Paige's "date" is going to go? Any suggestions? Any other comments? Please, leave me a review telling me how well or bad I did. And I'd also appreciate any ideas for future chapters, since other than the date I've got next to nothing. As capable as I am of pulling random ideas for stories out of nowhere, it is infinitely easier to have some suggested. So, please leave a review.


	17. Chapter 17

Well, special thanks to Yello13 for giving me not only a suggestion but also a scene to incorporate! Now, because Jerome is, well, the way he is the scene won't be exactly what Yello13 wrote, but it'll be pretty close. It would be word for word if I didn't feel that Jerome was a bit OoC and if I didn't feel the overwhelming desire to personalize it slightly. Anyway, the scene was excellent, and it is the first scene in the chapter. It ends with Orbs. Everything after that point is either solely or mostly mine.

Chapter 17:

Paige was just finishing getting ready. Her red strapless dress hugged her curves. Her lips were highlighted with the red lipstick she wore. Her deep brown locks only shaped her soft facial features more and she looked satisfied. To someone other than herself she was way more than satisfying. She was beautiful.

"Well, somebody's awfully dressed up just to go sightseeing," Phoebe teased while watching her younger sister ponder over herself in the bathroom mirror.

Paige knew that Phoebe was still trying to tease her about it being an actual date. Paige denied that it was. "Phoebe, we've been through this. 'Going out' and going out are two completely different things. I'm just showing Jerome the city," Paige said.

"Yeah, well, then you might want to try something warm and comfortable as opposed to... that," Phoebe said.

"Since when were my life and dress decisions open for scrutinizing and interrogating?" Paige asked, as she left the bathroom.

"It's part of the whole sister package. And it's an all or nothing package," Phoebe called from behind Paige as Paige began walking towards the attic.

"And here I was thinking that you of all people would be on my side," Paige said, instantly regretting the words as they left her mouth.

"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?"

"Uh, well, you are dating a demon," Paige said, trying to choose her words carefully.

"So what? Cole has saved my life on multiple occasions, and even risked angering the Source to spare me," Phoebe said. "What has Jerome done?"

"He's saved my life," Paige replied.

Phoebe said nothing. Paige reached the attic and was about to open the door when Jerome came out. He saw Phoebe and Paige and decided to try to unnerve Phoebe even more. He whispered just loud enough for Phoebe to hear "Wow." Jerome then asked "Who's the lucky man?" He watched as Phoebe flinched at his words.

Paige bit her bottom lip. "You...well if you want to, I mean if you want to go sightseeing with me." She twisted her fingers together in anticipation. she had never been this nervous to ask someone out. She was blushing with from so much embarrassment she was sure that her already blush laden face was turning red. Had it not been for the red stilettos she was strutting in she probably would have been hoping up in down in anticipation.

The brief time it took for Jerome to answer seemed like an eternity to Paige. Jerome opened his mouth and, as Paige got excited, asked "Just sightseeing? If that's all you want to do, then maybe you should put on something warmer. It's the middle of December at seven at night; you don't want to get sick again, do you?"

"Well, I-I was kind of hoping to maybe get something to eat and see the city and-" Paige started.

"Paige, he has a point. You getting sick for Christmas would really suck. It would make me feel awful to see you so miserable, too," Phoebe said, trying to make amends to her suspicions and interrogations. Phoebe didn't want or need Paige mad at her.

"Alright, fine, I'll go put something warmer on. But, are we going or not?" Paige asked nervously.

"Only if I can show you something first," Jerome said, trying to frighten Phoebe a little.

"Deal," Paige replied. Paige went to go change into warmer clothes and when she returned Jerome held out his hand to her in a gentleman-like fashion. Paige took his hand, turned and gave Phoebe a look that said "Stop worrying" and "I told you so," and together they Orbed out of the attic. Jerome chose Orbing because Paige was far more comfortable Orbing than Shimmering, or at least that's what Paige decided to think.

Phoebe ran down the stairs, yelling "Piper!"

Piper came running from out of the kitchen and said "What?"

"Okay, so you know how Paige likes Jerome?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah, I think everyone does," Pier replied.

"Well, I think he likes her back," Phoebe said slowly.

"And that's a problem because...?" Piper asked.

"Well, he's him and he likes her and it's just bad!" Phoebe said.

"You have absolutely nothing to go on, do you?" Piper asked.

"I don't like it!" Phoebe said. "Do you? I thought you were the one who told her not to go falling for this guy!"

"Yeah, but if he's falling for her then the odds of him wanting to hurt us are dramatically decreased. And if that is true then you finally know why he trusts Paige more. Plus if he actually does like Paige, then she should have no problems getting him to talk," Piper said. The way she was talking gave Phoebe the impression that Piper didn't really believe Jerome liked Paige.

"You don't think he does, do you?" Phoebe asked.

"Well, to be completely honest, no. I really doubt he has any feelings. At all. I'm not even sure he feels really simple, easy emotions like happy and content, yet alone one as complicated as love," Piper said.

"Well, then, why was he flirting with Paige upstairs when she asked him out?" Phoebe asked.

"Because you were there. And he probably knows that you don't trust him; after all, you did try to invade his mind," Piper said.

"Hey, you helped me do that. Besides, why would he try to worry me by flirting with Paige?"

"Because he knows that you don't want Paige to fall for him. She's already fallen for him, the only question now is will she get over him before he falls for her? If not, then you and I lose, big time. Especially since we don't trust him or his motives," Piper replied.

"So, what you're trying to tell me is that Jerome is pretending to fall for Paige so he can unnerve us and keep her interested in him? Why would he do that?"

"So we don't have the Power of Three to stop him if he comes after us. Or maybe so we can't gang up on him and stop him from getting his powers back or something. I don't know, I just think he has some kind of ulterior motives," Piper said. She and Phoebe stood in silence before Piper decided that she should make sure that dinner wasn't burning and went back into the kitchen.

* * *

Jerome took Paige to the top of a tall building in the darkest part of the city. The building was tall enough and far enough away from all the light and bustle of mainstream San Francisco, the stars and constellations were easy to see. Jerome showed Paige the Big and Little Dippers. "Each star in the Big Dipper represents the original members of the Council, back when the world was first created and the Grand Design was first implemented. A member of the Council normally serves for 1500 to 2000 of your years before retiring. The very first Council was given recognition for their sacrifice and their service, since the first few thousand years of the Grand Design were pretty disastrous. My people had to interfere almost constantly, and the Council of that time had to make some difficult decisions," Jerome explained. Paige was excited; she was already getting to know about Jerome and his people!

"Wow, what about the other constellations? Do they have anything to do with your people?" Paige asked.

"Yes. The Little Dipper is the current Council. Each of those seven stars is like a telescope that allows its Council member to watch over the Earth and know what's happening here. Polaris, the brightest, is the leader's star. It has the ability to give him some foresight to what will happen here. If the Grand Design is ever in danger or off balance, he can look through Polaris and see what will happen, if the Grand Design will fix itself or if it needs some help being restored to its proper order," Jerome explained.

"Why are you telling me this?" Paige asked as she turned to look at him.

Jerome thought for a moment and shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "I guess after being up there for so long it's nice to let somebody know that we're always there, that you see us all the time, in the stars."

They stood and watched the stars for a moment before Paige asked "So, what else can you tell me about your people?"

"You really want to know?" Jerome asked.

Paige nodded. Jerome said "Why don't we eat first? I'll tell you a little more while we eat."

Author's Note:

I decided to break up the "date" into a few chapters, to (hopefully) keep myself from rushing through it. That and I can't think of a good restaurant for Jerome and Paige to eat at. Yeah, kind of sad, but I don't know what there is in San Francisco now, yet alone back in 2001 or 2002. So, any restaurant suggestions would be greatly appreciated and please try to keep in mind that I don't plan on this "date" being all that romantic. I'm going for more of a trust thing for this "date." Jerome is the kind of guy who doesn't do romance well, and when he does he prefers to trust the girl he's with.


	18. Chapter 18

Yeah, I've been busy with vacation and all that. So, my question to you, readers, is this: do you mind if I post a Christmas chapter after Christmas? It may not even end up being posted until after New Year's. If it's out of season or something, let me know and I can avoid a Christmas chapter. I wanted to do one and post it before or on Christmas, but that didn't happen. So, should I write a Christmas chapter, or just skip the holiday? This chapter is still the "date" with Jerome and Paige, so there's time to answer.

Chapter 18:

Paige took Jerome to IHOP. It may not have been a particularly romantic restaurant, but she knew how much Jerome ate, and didn't want to go broke before Christmas. This year she actually had Christmas shopping to do, and people to shop for. Besides, Paige wasn't entirely sure that Jerome realized that this was supposed to be a date. All she said was sightseeing and dinner. Jerome may not have known that dinner almost always means date. Just because Phoebe did, didn't necessarily mean Jerome did.

In IHOP Jerome ordered four omelets and three plates of four massive pancakes, along with all the sides that came with that. Paige just had a salad. She wasn't too hungry. She was too nervous and excited at the same time to really want to eat much of anything. That, and there was no way she'd be able to afford much more than a salad after seeing how much Jerome ordered. Paige would have loved for Jerome to pay, not only because that's how dates usually went, but also because Paige's wallet wasn't limitless. Sadly, Jerome had no job, no money, nor any concept of money or payment for that matter. As a result, Paige's wallet was suffering.

While Paige and Jerome were waiting for their food (which the waiter said would take about forty minutes due to the sheer size of Jerome's order), Paige tried to get Jerome to tell her more about his people. Jerome was a pretty tough nut to crack, though, and for about ten minutes would tell her next to nothing.

"Come on! You said you'd tell me more at dinner," Paige asked for probably the thirty-third time.

Jerome finally relented. "Fine, ask me what you want to know, and I'll answer as much as I can." It wasn't a lot, but it was still way better than nothing.

"Well, do your people have a name other than just 'your people?'" Paige asked.

"Yes, we have been called many things in the past. The Ultimate Guardians, the Great Defenders, the Executors, the Great Powers, and more. Amongst ourselves we prefer either the Defenders or the Executors, depending on what our duty is at the time," Jerome answered.

"Duty at the time? What does that mean?" Paige asked.

"We are to defend the Grand Design until such a time comes that the Grand Design cannot be corrected by itself or by small and simple acts that we do. When that time comes, we are to execute the Grand Architect's, um, 'restoration,' I guess, and restore the world to a state where the Grand Design can properly function. We've only had to do that once in my lifetime, and from what I've been told only three times since the Grand Design was first implemented," Jerome said.

"So, you're Defenders now?" Paige asked.

"Yes. And trust me, if we were ever to become Executors, you'd know. It'd be very, very obvious," Jerome said.

"What do you mean by that?" Paige asked, confused.

Jerome thought for a moment. "I think before going into that I should describe the class system amongst my people." Paige noticed a small change about Jerome. At first he was very reluctant to talk about the Defenders, but the more he said the more comfortable he seemed to get. Before Jerome would have simply left it at "you'd know," but now Jerome was going into detail about how she would know.

"There are three major classes, the Linears, the Council, and the Observers. I've already talked about the Council before. They're the leaders of my people, and they make all of the decisions regarding the world. The Observers are old Council members who have retired from the Council and watch over the world and my people, giving advice to the Council when needed.

"The last group, or class, is the Linear class. These are, more or less, the commoners and general population of my people. I am a Linear, as are all those who do not or have not served on the Council. The Council is made of Linears who have proven themselves worthy to hold the responsibility of the entire people and the Grand Design. They are usually the smartest of us, though there are exceptions to this rule," Jerome said that last part almost bitterly, and paused for a moment. He only stopped briefly, though, before continuing his explanation. "Many of my people are Linears for their entire existences-"

"Uh, sorry for interrupting, but how do your people die if they're all invincible?" Paige asked.

Jerome looked at Paige. "After a certain period of time many of my people choose to forsake their powers. Some of these people stay amongst the rest of us and simply fade away after a while. Others come to Earth and live as mortals until they, too, fade. And some join with other, lesser powers and continue to assist the Grand Design, from a different point of view. Some become Upper level demons, others become Elders, some even become Avatars," Jerome said.

"What's an Avatar?" Paige asked.

"Nothing. Forget I said anything about Avatars," Jerome said quickly. Paige, though very curious, didn't press the matter. Instead she asked Jerome to continue.

"Right, as I was saying, once my people move on, another is born to take their place. The length of time someone chooses to keep their powers varies greatly, but it is never less than 8500 years and I have never heard of anyone keeping their powers for more than 75 million years. I believe the exact number is 74,658,945 years. That was my father. He chose to move on and faded about two thousand years ago," Jerome said. All these large numbers was a bit overwhelming to Paige. She tried to wrap her mind around the thought of anyone being that old, but it gave her a headache. Paige instead asked him to continue what he was saying before describing the lifespan of the Defenders.

"Right, as I was saying before, many of my people remain Linears for their entire existences. Only a chosen few ever get to be Council members, and only Council members become Observers. However, the Linears have a secret, hidden power within them. This power, when activated, gives the Linears the power to restore everything, restore the Grand Design to its proper state. When this power is activated, we Linears Ascend.

"Ascension is like getting a major power boost. Once Ascended, the Linears are completely unstoppable. An Ascended Linear could single-handedly destroy an army of normal Linears, and I do mean destroy. The only way for my people to be killed, with all their powers, is by the hand of an Ascended one. These are the Executors, and once they begin, nothing can or will stop them," Jerome said.

"So, how do we know if you Ascend? You said it'd be obvious," Paige asked.

"An Ascended one has solid gold eyes and stark white hair. My eyes are blue and my hair is dark. If that ever changes, then you know I've Ascended, and my people have begun to execute the restoration. But, from what I've seen, that shouldn't happen for many, many years. Besides, the current Council won't start the Ascension unless the world is about to blow itself to pieces or something else drastic," Jerome said. By this time the food had arrived, and Jerome began to eat.

Jerome had finished all of his omelets and most of his pancakes in the amount of time it took Paige to eat half of her salad. Paige marveled at Jerome's ability to scarf down large amounts of food in a short amount of time. Paige's salad wasn't even that big, so it wasn't like Paige was trying to eat a twenty-five pound salad or anything.

After they finished eating, Paige had one last question for Jerome, for the time at least. "How do the Linears Ascend? I mean, what has to happen for them to Ascend?"

Jerome paused and thought for a minute while Paige paid the bill. The waiter looked at her as she paid the incredibly high bill, looked at Jerome, and got a look on his face that said "How sad, and how backwards."

Paige tried not to blush in embarrassment, realizing the eccentricity of the situation. Jerome stopped thinking and answered Paige's question. "I honestly don't know. I think the Council does something, but I don't know what it is they do, or even if they do it. They decide when the Ascension begins, but I don't know what other say they have in it," Jerome said. "I've Ascended only once, and I know that, once Ascended, the mindset completely changes. My sole focus, my sole purpose, was to restore the world to a balanced state. That was all I could think about. When the balance was restored, I felt completely lost until I reverted. I'm also not sure how I reverted, but everyone did."

Paige decided to be content with that information and, after getting her credit card back, decided that she had dug up enough dirt to satisfy Piper for at least a month. Paige figured it was high time they did what they were actually going out for; sightseeing.

Author's Note:

I've put some pretty extreme ideas into this chapter. This chapter says a lot about Jerome's people, the Defenders. I'd say that by this point, Jerome trusts Paige. Before he only sort of, kind of trusted her the way you trust a stranger who seems decent enough. But now he trusts her in a way similar to how you trust a friendly acquaintance. A good deal of trust, but it's not complete. There's still something missing. Anyway, please leave a review telling me if you liked all the lore I put in, if I should make and post a Christmas chapter despite the fact that Christmas is over, and if there's anything else you'd like to know about Jerome's people.


	19. Chapter 19

So, one vote for no Christmas chapter. As of right now, that's what it looks like, so if anyone disagrees let me know so I know. Yello13 gave me the idea of a demon that feeds on love breaking the truce and going after the love of innocents, since love is definitely high during the holiday season. This chapter will finish the date and introduce that demon.

Chapter 19:

A Lower level demon was wandering through the labyrinth that was his lair. This demon was small, had dark hair and dark eyes, and was desperately trying not to whimper in fear. He walked down the long tunnel until he eventually reached the main chamber. The main chamber was a vast, open area with several torches hung on the wall at irregular intervals for light. There were a few chains on the wall for prisoners, one of which had a dark haired woman hanging in it. She seemed alive, but only just. The main feature of the room, however, was the large, heart shaped bowl in the center. The bowl held some mysterious pink fluid that flowed and churned and stirred. The bowl itself was made of obsidian; a relatively rare stone for a demon to use. Standing over the pool was a demon. This demon was male and had short, dark hair. He was tall, and had tanned skin. His back was turned to the Lower level demon, so he couldn't see the face. Nevertheless, the Lower level demon knew this demon. His name was Amenti.

Amenti was an incredibly powerful Upper level demon. Many centuries ago the Source had banned Amenti from leaving the Underworld for any more than two days a year; the summer solstice and the winter solstice. After the truce between good and evil during the mortal holiday times, Amenti was restricted to the summer solstice only. As a result, Amenti was incredibly bitter and very angry with any and all demons.

The Lower level demon, whose name was Steve, had been sent by the Source to enlist Amenti's help. Amenti had the unique ability to feed on love. It nourished him, strengthened him, and if he were permitted love would give him the power to overthrow the Source. That was why the Source banned Amenti. However, the Source had become desperate enough to risk unleashing Amenti if it meant the death of the Charmed Ones.

Steve stood in the entrance to the cavern for a few minutes, trying to steel himself, when Amenti asked "Do you need something?" Amenti turned around and Steve saw that Amenti had brown eyes and a neatly trimmed goatee with a small mustache. His face was hard and cold.

Steve jumped. "Y-yes. The Source has requested-"

Amenti roared and threw an energy ball at his prisoner. She was vaporized in a second. He built up a fireball and said "Unless you want to burn, get out!"

"But wait! The Source offers you freedom if you help him out!" Steve yelled.

Amenti paused and put out the fireball. "I'm listening," he said.

"The Source wants you to break the truce between good and evil and attack the Charmed Ones before their Christmas holiday. If you kill them, the Source promises to give you free reign to wander around as much as you want," Steve said.

"Very well. Tell the Source that if he wants me to kill his witches, then he better be willing to let me do it my way," Amenti said. "What's your name?"

"Steve."

"What kind of ridiculous name is that?"

"Well, it was given to me so I can better blend in with humans," Steve said weakly.

"And you couldn't have just picked a demonic name for yourself so you don't have to wander the Underworld as 'Steve?'" Amenti asked.

"Uh, well, uh, no. I hadn't thought of that," Steve replied.

"Ugh, very well, Steve, go deliver my message to the Source, and tell him to send me three demons to work for me. I don't care who or what level, I just need three," Amenti ordered.

"Yes, sir!" Steve said as he scurried into the tunnel to relay the message.

"Well, well, well, looks like the Charmed Ones get the opportunity to see, first hand, how much love can really hurt!" Amenti growled.

* * *

Piper and Phoebe were cleaning the manor. Or, Piper was cleaning the manor while Phoebe walked around stressing out about Jerome and Paige. "What if he's just going to lure her to a secret place and kill her! Or maybe he's going to try to convince her to somehow get him his powers back so he can vaporize all of us at once! Or maybe he's trying to impregnate her with some kind of omnipotent thing that will grow to destroy the world!" Phoebe continued talking and her theories got more and more wild and ridiculous.

"Phoebe!" Piper yelled after hearing something about meteorites. "Please be rational! Do you honestly think that he's going to try to impregnate Paige with anything? Or that he's going to kill her? Or that he's going to convince her to call down a meteor shower? Those theories are kind of ridiculous!"

"Well, I'm sorry for worrying about my baby sister!" Phoebe yelled. "You'd worry, too, if that was me rather than Paige."

"Phoebe, please, don't be ridiculous. I'm worried just as much as I would be if that were you! But guess what? We know nothing about him! Nothing at all! I, for one, would feel so much better about having Jerome stay here if we knew something about him, and just for the record, I wasn't kidding when I said Paige isn't going to have anywhere to sleep tonight if she doesn't bring me something," Piper said.

"Piper, isn't that a bit extreme?" Phoebe asked.

"Coming from the girl who thought Jerome was trying to destroy us by having Paige Orb a meteor shower on us!" Piper snapped.

Phoebe was about to say something when Cole Shimmered in. Cole kissed Phoebe, effectively stopping her from saying anything, and turned to Piper. "We've got a bit of a problem," Cole said.

"Why?" Piper asked.

"I was in the Underworld, snooping around to see if the demonic bounty hunters would still come after me during the holiday truce, they won't, by the way, when I heard that the Source sent for Amenti to come after you guys," Cole said.

"Wait, who's Amenti?" Phoebe asked.

"A demon who feeds on love. The Source wants Amenti to break the truce and kill you. And since this is the holiday season, Amenti is going to have an awful lot of love around to feed on," Cole said.

"So, how is this any different than another demon?" Phoebe asked.

"Simple. Amenti cannot be vanquished. At least, not permanently. Since he feeds on love, he survives any attempt on his life as long as there is some love in the world. You can try, and he may stay gone for a good while, but he'll come back, and with a vengeance," Cole said.

"So, why haven't we heard anything about this Amenti guy before?" Piper asked.

"Well, the Source banned him from leaving the Underworld any days other than the summer and winter solstices. With the winter solstice falling in during the holiday truce, Amenti basically has one day to leave the Underworld. One day to feed. That's why you've never heard of him; he's always to busy feeding to bother with killing any innocents or witches," Cole said.

"And that changes now because...?" Piper asked.

"Now he has a chance to earn his freedom. If he kills you, then he can wander as he once did, feeding and wrecking havoc. And he has from now until Christmas to do it," Cole said.

* * *

Paige and Jerome were standing on top of the Golden Gate Bridge. Paige had already shown Jerome nearly everything there was to see in San Francisco. At the Golden Gate Bridge Paige made a comment about how amazing the view from the top must have been. Jerome responded by Orbing the two of them to the top. Paige was admiring the view excitedly. "Look! That's the manor! And there's P3!" Paige exclaimed. Jerome allowed himself a small smile at her excitement.

Paige noticed and said "Ha! You can smile!"

Jerome's smile faded as he thought about what she said. He didn't smile, not even a little. At least, not since his brother was put on the Council. Since then the only time he ever allowed himself even the smallest of grins was either to humor someone or when everything went perfectly to his plans. Why was that changing? Was it the friendship offered by Paige? Or was it simply because he had nothing to distract him from joy and contentment? He didn't have most of his powers, all he could do was bide time. Maybe since he had little else to preoccupy himself with, he was more open to contentment and joy. Yes, that had to be it. It must have been that his mind was freed from most of its focus. Paige frowned slightly. "Come on, I was just kidding," she said.

"We should probably get back. We've seen everything, and I have a feeling your sisters are worried about you," Jerome said.

Paige looked disappointed. "Why would they be worried? I'm with you," she said.

"That's why I think they're worried," Jerome replied. Paige gave Jerome a confused look. Jerome responded by remote Orbing Paige to the manor. Jerome, however, had a feeling that some huge amount of power had just been used. Jerome didn't actually sense it, but it was more of a gut, instinctual feeling. Jerome Shimmered to the place he thought he felt the source of that power; one of the ancient Mayan pyramids.

* * *

Paige appeared in the living room of the manor in front of Piper and Phoebe. They both jumped a little at Paige's sudden appearance. Piper looked around and, noticing Jerome's absence, asked "Where's Jerome?"

"I don't know. He just sent me here after saying we should get back. I thought he'd be right behind me," Paige replied.

"Oh, well, he's a mysterious guy. He probably had some weird Jerome errand to run. Besides, we've got bigger problems," Piper said.

"What are they?" Paige asked.

"Cole said that a demon is going to attack us before Christmas," Phoebe said.

"Wait, what about the truce?" Paige asked.

"The Source wants us dead badly enough to send a demon after us despite the truce," Piper said.

"Well, the Source sends demons after us all the time. Why can't we just vanquish it?" Paige asked.

"Well, according to Cole, this demon can't be vanquished forever. He won't stay down; he'll come back. He feeds on love, so as long as there is love, he has a way back," Piper said.

"I thought love was a good thing," Paige groaned.

"Apparently not," Piper replied.

"So, how do we beat him if he doesn't stay vanquished forever?" Paige asked.

"Still working on that," Piper said.

"Maybe we should try writing a Power of Three spell," Phoebe suggested.

"Alright, you get on that, Paige and I will go make some potions in case the spell doesn't work," Piper said. Paige gave a "Who, me?" look before Piper pulled her into the kitchen to start working on the potion. Phoebe sat down, pulled out a pen and paper, and started writing a spell.

* * *

Jerome found the source of the power he felt. It was Daniel, a member of the Council. Daniel was blasting lightning inside the pyramid. Once Jerome Shimmered in, Daniel stopped throwing lightning. He turned and looked at Jerome. "Hello, Jerome. I had a feeling all this power would at least draw your attention," Daniel said.

"Please, cut to the chase, Daniel," Jerome said.

Daniel looked somewhat offended, but also slightly amused. "Very well," he said. "I am here to tell you tat Marthis is furious with you for telling the witch so much about our people."

"Wait, so he's spying on me now? Doesn't he have anything better to do?" Jerome asked.

"Sadly, he is a bit consumed by hatred and a thirst for some so-called justice. The rest of the Council has tried to tell him to leave you in peace, but to no avail," Daniel said.

"And so all his current rage on top of his hatred of me is why you came here instead," Jerome said.

"Precisely. Marthis wants us to strip you of what powers you still have, other than the ability to regenerate and immortality, and thrust you down to Purgatory for a few years as punishment. The rest of us just want to tell you to stop and leave it at that. Marthis may be our leader, but he doesn't dictate us. If all six of us oppose him, he cannot act," Daniel said.

"Yes, I'm aware of the power totem within the Council. So, what, I'm just going to get a warning to say nothing more of our people? How then do you propose I gain the Charmed Ones' trust? They don't trust me, and they won't unless they know enough about me to at least guess at my motives and decide for themselves that I'm not evil," Jerome said.

"I agree with you. As does your brother," Daniel said. "However, Marthis and several other Council members disagree with us. Until we can convince them otherwise, you must be careful not to reveal any more about us. I'll inform you of the Council's final decision when it is made," Daniel said. Daniel then Flickered away. Jerome Orbed to the manor.

* * *

Amenti was ready. He had three demons at his disposal. One Upper level demon, a Tracer demon, and Steve. He had everything he needed. "You!" he said, pointing to Steve. Steve jumped at the sudden exclamation and pointed finger. "Tell the Source that if he wants the Charmed Ones dead, then he needs to be patient and let me do it in my own time, my own way. Tell him that I will not attack until after the holiday, when the love is strongest and the Charmed Ones are off their guards. Tell him that I need free reign until then to watch them and see what I can gather from their actions and interactions. And that I need time to build up enough power to destroy them. Go!"

Steve jumped again and Shimmered away to tell the Source. A few minutes later Steve reappeared with another demon. The other demon was burning and quickly exploded into dust after it appeared. "The Source says to do whatever it takes, but if you fail that will be your fate," Steve said, pointing to the ashes of the other demon.

"Naturally. Now, you," Amenti said, pointing to the Upper level demon. "You said that you are a shape-shifter, right?"

"Yes, my lord," the demon answered.

"Take the form of various mortals, I really don't care who, and watch the Charmed Ones. Learn everything you can about them, and see if you can't steal anything from them that would give me any inside information about them. But do not try to impersonate one of them. Take the form of their friends, family, I don't care how you do it, just get information about them and do not get caught," Amenti said.

"What about us? What are we to do?" the Tracer demon asked.

"My, my, aren't we bold. You are to find loveless innocents and bring them to me," Amenti said. The Tracer demon Faded away.

Amenti turned his attention to Steve. "And you are to capture a cupid and bring him to me. I don't care which one or how you get him, just do it," Amenti said.

Steve saluted and Shimmered away. Amenti turned to his bowl and began telekinetically stirring it. "Well, now, Love Pool, tonight we're going to cause some mortals to feel the pains of love," he muttered to the bowl. The bowl, called the Love Pool, seemed to bubble in excitement.

Author's Note:

Paige and Jerome's "date" is officially over, and now there's another demon after them. This one seems to be like Zankou; he's trying to learn everything he can about the Charmed Ones before he tries to kill them. However, unlike Zankou, this demon will keep coming back unless the sisters find a way to permanently vanquish him. Any thoughts, suggestions, ideas, or other requests? Please leave them in the form of a review.


	20. Chapter 20

Now, my question for you to ponder and (hopefully) answer is this: does love have enough power to bring someone back from the astral plane or any other plane? One suggested way to vanquish Amenti is to banish him to the Astral plane mid-vanquish. My thoughts on that suggestion are this: the Noxon demon that was vanquished and sent to the Astral plane was technically unvanquishable and seemed to take an awfully long time to go through the vanquish/regenerate process. Most other demons vanquish pretty quickly once actually vanquished. Amenti is no exception. My question is this: would there be enough time to banish Amenti to the Astral plane before he is sent to the Wasteland (which would only result in him eventually coming back). I'm not so sure, what do you guys think?

Chapter 20:

Amenti recruited another shape-shifter, this time a Lower level demon, to take his form, since Amenti knew that Belthazor was with the Charmed Ones, and that Belthazor knew his face. Amenti was going to have the Lower level shape-shifter attack the Charmed Ones, and do so in a convincing manner, three days before Christmas.

Steve managed to find and capture a cupid by, more or less, incapacitating him with hatred. The cupid was unable to move, allowing Steve to bring it to Amenti's lair where Amenti was able to imprison it and take its ring. The cupid was chained to a wall and force-fed some of Amenti's mysterious Love Pool fluids, which Amenti called Love's Draught. The liquid seemed to knock the cupid out.

"What does that stuff do?" Steve asked.

"It acts as a substitute for love. I can feed on it as a last resort, though it isn't nearly as potent as the real deal. In this cupid it should overload his powers, specifically his powers of suggestion. This ring is linked to its cupid, so amplifying the cupid's powers will amplify the ring's powers," Amenti replied.

"What else can that pool do?" Steve asked.

"Well, let's just leave that for a big surprise. Love's Draught, specifically, can cause mortals to temporarily fall in love with the first person they see. However, this fake love doesn't taste quite as sweet or offer as much power as true love," Amenti replied.

The Tracer demon successfully found thirty loveless innocents and brought them all to Amenti. Amenti used the amplified power of suggestion from the cupid ring to start a romance between the innocents. It successfully brought together ten couples in merely five days. The remaining ten innocents were force fed some Love's Draught. The artificial love created by the Draught was quickly absorbed by Amenti. Amenti then killed the innocents. Amenti turned to the real, true loved couples and drained their love. The power boost felt good, and the love tasted so sweet. Yet, at the same time, it was somewhat sickening. Demons could not feel love, or any other human emotions, so feeding on such a powerful, good human emotion was somewhat nauseating. It was comparable to eating a ton of chocolate; so sweet, yet too much was sickening.

Amenti called the Lower level shape-shifter. "Alright, now take my form," Amenti said.

The shape-shifter changed to look identical to Amenti. Amenti smiled evilly and cloaked himself. He Flamed himself and the shape-shifter to the manor. Amenti planned on using his powers while cloaked to make the Lower level demon look more powerful, and seem like Amenti. Luckily, he timed his arrival just in time to see Cole and Paige.

Cole shoved Paige to the side and threw an energy ball at "Amenti." The real Amenti used his powers to destroy the energy ball and create an illusion of one. The illusion hit the shape-shifter and dissipated. The shape-shifter then threw an energy ball at Cole. Amenti powered it up to the point where it actually would do some damage. The force of the impact sent Cole flying. Paige stood up and yelled for her sisters. Amenti walked behind the shape-shifter and conjured a fireball into the shape-shifter's hand. The shape-shifter threw it at Paige. Paige yelled out "Fireball!" The fireball disappeared in a flurry of Orbs and reappeared flying towards the shape-shifter. Amenti telekinetically threw the fireball to the side. The shape-shifter was smart enough to mimic the motion, effectively keeping the illusion going. Piper and Phoebe came running down the stairs, and Amenti Flamed himself and the shape-shifter back to his lair. As he left, he heard Paige say "What just happened?"

Amenti and the shape-shifter reappeared in Amenti's lair. The shape-shifter reverted form. "Well done," Amenti said. "Your services will not go unrewarded, I promise you."

The shape-shifter bowed and Shimmered away. Amenti called for the Upper level shape-shifter. He Shimmered into Amenti's lair. "Yes, my lord?" he asked.

"Status report," Amenti said.

"The Charmed Ones have not allowed me in their home regardless of what form I take. Nor mortal form will gain me entry; there are preparing themselves for you and will put no mortals in harm's way," the Upper level demon said.

"Hm, I thought we might run into this problem. Take the form of a child, an innocent child, and I will have a demon 'attack' you in front of one of the Charmed Ones. They will, to protect you, take you into their home until they stop the demon that was ordered to 'attack' you, and once there you can take anything that I can use against the. Journals, diaries, inside information on them, anything you can get. And, use the name... Joseph. Joseph is an innocent sounding name, it should work just fine," Amenti explained.

"As you wish, my lord. If I may be so bold, who is the demon that will attack me?" the Upper level demon, now "Joseph," asked, as he took the form of a young boy.

"Hm, who to trust to attack without vanquishing you... hm, I think I will. They're already after me, and this way we don't have to worry about shifting their focus. Yes, I think that will work quite nicely. Now, let's get into position," Amenti said.

He and "Joseph" teleported to an alley by the side of the road that Amenti knew Phoebe would walk past in a few minutes. He and "Joseph" waited for Phoebe to walk past and, when she did, Amenti threw a fireball at "Joseph." Amenti intentionally missed, and, as he expected, successfully got Phoebe's attention. Phoebe ran down the alley yelling at Amenti to stop. Amenti threw an energy ball at Phoebe, this time missing because Phoebe leapt out of the way. Phoebe threw a potion at Amenti. The potion hurt, but didn't vanquish him. Amenti grunted and Flamed away. Phoebe ran down the alley to "Joseph."

* * *

**Earlier, at the Manor**

After the shape-shifter, who Cole and the girls all thought was Amenti, Flamed away, Paige asked "What just happened?"

"That was Amenti, the demon who feeds on love. I didn't think he'd be bold enough to attack you here, but I guess desperation led to rashness," Cole said.

"Now what do we do?" Phoebe asked.

"Talk to Jerome and see if he knows anything?" Paige suggested. Jerome had Orbed back to the manor a little while ago, but requested to be left in peace as he pondered the meaning of a mysterious warning he had received. He didn't go into any details, but Paige had a small suspicion that he may have told her a little too much and was being punished for it.

"Yeah, no. He made it pretty clear that he didn't want us bothering him," Piper replied.

"Well, what do we do?" Paige asked.

"Phoebe, take this potion and go look around to see if you see him feeding off anyone," Piper said, handing Phoebe a potion. "I'm going to go check the Book and see if it has anything about this Amenti guy."

"Doubt it. He's never bothered with any of the Warren witches before, so I doubt any of your ancestors have written anything about him in the Book," Cole said.

"Well, it can't hurt to try!" Piper snapped.

"Wait, what do you want me to do?" Paige asked.

"You and Cole need to ask around in the Underworld and see what you can learn about this guy. And remember: be careful," Piper said.

"Wait, why do I have to go?" Paige asked.

"You need to go because you're still pretty new to the whole Charmed thing and I don't think the demons have learned your face yet. Cole's going with you because you need him to get to the Underworld and because he knows the terrain," Piper said.

"Well, what about Leo? Can't he go with Cole?" Paige asked.

"No, Leo's going to go check with the Elders. Leo!" Piper yelled.

Leo Orbed into the manor, right in front of Piper. "What's up?" he asked.

"Demon who feeds on love. His name's Amenti or something, go see what the Elders know," Piper said.

"You know, you could say please," Leo said.

"Yeah, and I could also blow you up, now go!" Piper snapped. Leo Orbed Up There and Paige looked at Piper incredulously.

"What? He knows I love him," Piper said. Paige just shook her head and agreed to go with Cole, though reluctantly.

Phoebe left the house to look around and see if Amenti was draining any love nearby. She ran past an alley and saw Amenti attacking a little boy. He threw an energy ball at the child, but missed. Phoebe yelled at Amenti to stop him. Amenti turned towards her and grinned evilly. He threw an energy ball at Phoebe. Phoebe leapt out of the way. Phoebe threw her potion at Amenti. It struck, but Amenti survived. He grunted and Flamed away. Phoebe ran over to the little boy, concerned for him.

"Hey, what happened?" Phoebe asked in a soothing voice.

"I-I don't know. One minute I was walking down the street, and the next I was being attacked by that man. Who was he, and what did he throw at me?" the boy asked.

"Listen, I know of a place where you'll be safe. How old are you?"

"Eleven."

"And what's your name?"

"Joseph," the boy replied.

"Well, Joseph, come with me and I'll take you to a very safe house, where my sisters and I promise to take care of you and answer all of your questions," Phoebe said. Joseph agreed and followed Phoebe home.

Author's Note:

Ah, don't you just love dramatic irony? I'll be honest, I thought this chapter was a bit too focused on Amenti and not focused enough on the sisters and Jerome. Jerome was only mentioned in this chapter, but don't worry; he'll be back soon enough. I just needed to show how elaborate Amenti's plans can be, and what he's up to. Next chapter will have more of the sisters, and a lot less of Amenti. Now, I have another question for you: what power-ups, if any, should the sisters get in this story? I think that they need a boost, especially Paige. The poor girl only has one Wiccan power, and that's telekinetic Orbing, which isn't even a full Wiccan power. Paige definitely needs at least one more active power, and I don't want another Whitelighter based one. I want her to have another Wiccan one, though not telekinesis. Phoebe and Piper could use a power-up, too, though I'd rather they be somewhat related to their other powers. Like how Piper's powers are molecular based and Phoebe's are mind based. Since Paige's one power is motion based, another motion based power wouldn't be too bad. Please leave a review answering either or both of my questions along with any suggestions for the story.


	21. Chapter 21

I've been thinking, maybe Amenti should have a brother who feeds on hate? I'm a bit unsure about this idea, so if anyone likes it please let me know. If Amenti drained all the love from a couple/person, all that's be left is hate. If the hate is gone, that leaves nothing. The two would be a deadly combination, but I don't know if anyone would like this. Let me know about any thoughts on a demon like that, along with any suggestions for the girls' powers; I think they desperately need an upgrade or two. Especially Paige.

Chapter 21:

Phoebe brought Joseph into the manor. Piper, upon hearing the door open, came running out into the foyer. "Phoebe, what happened? Did you find him?" she yelled. Piper stopped when she saw Phoebe with Joseph. "Who's he?" Piper asked.

"This is Joseph, and yes I found Amenti. He was attacking Joseph," Phoebe replied.

"What? Why?" Piper asked.

"I don't know, but I told Joseph he could stay here until we deal with Amenti," Phoebe said. Upon seeing Piper's expression, she quickly added "You wouldn't want the poor kid to be killed by Amenti, would you?"

Piper relented and agreed to let Joseph stay. She turned to Joseph and asked "Are you hungry?"

Joseph shook his head, seemingly too shocked to speak. "Okay..." Piper said.

Joseph opened his mouth and asked "Can I lay down somewhere? I'm really tired."

"Of course you can," Phoebe said. "Here, come with me. You can rest in my bed if you want."

Joseph nodded and quietly thanked Phoebe. Phoebe led him upstairs to her room and let him lay down on her bed. She told him that if he needed anything just to yell and either she or her sister would get him whatever he needed. Once Phoebe left, Joseph got up. He started searching around for anything Amenti could use against her. He found a diary hidden under the pillow (so cliché), and a shopping list. The list said Advil, so Joseph figured Amenti might be able to use it for something. But the real prize came in the diary. With it Amenti had access to an almost unlimited amount of emotional ammo. Joseph heard footsteps, so he quickly hid the diary on his person and crawled back into Phoebe's bed. He closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. He had time; he could try and get something from Piper and Paige later.

* * *

Phoebe came down the stairs. "Okay, he's resting. What do we do now?"

"We can't really do anything other than wait for Cole, Paige, or Leo," Piper said.

"Did you check the Book?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah, and it's like Cole said; nothing," Piper replied.

"So all we can do is wait? I am not okay with this!" Phoebe said.

"Yeah, I don't really like it either, Pheebs, but unfortunately we don't have a choice. We can't just attack him; our strongest potion did nothing," Piper said.

"Not true, it hurt him. It didn't vanquish him, but I think if you continually blew him up and I kept throwing these potions at him, we might be able to get him," Phoebe said.

"Yeah, or he'll kill us. We're going to wait. Maybe talking to Joseph will help you calm down," Piper said. "Try and see if he knows anything about what happened, and if he can guess as to why Amenti was after him in the first place."

Phoebe agreed and went upstairs to her room. She opened the door and saw Joseph laying in her bed, asleep. She shook him gently to wake him up. Joseph's eyes opened, and he looked at Phoebe. "Hey," Phoebe said. "Can I talk to you?"

Joseph nodded his head. "Do you know why that man was after you?" Phoebe asked.

Joseph shook his head. "Are you sure? Can you think of any reason that he would want to hurt you?"

Joseph seemed to think. Phoebe thought he looked a bit nervous, but when he opened his mouth he spoke normally. "He said something about me being a 'loveless coward' and how I deserved to burn in a pit of fire and brimstone. He even threatened to take me to one if he missed the first shot. Then he threw that energy ball at me," Joseph said. Phoebe's mind didn't register the fact that Joseph knew what an energy ball was.

"Oh, you poor thing! Is there anything else at all that you can tell me? We're going to try to help the police find this horrible man," Phoebe asked. Joseph seemed to think then shook his head. "Okay, try and rest. Tell someone if you need anything," Phoebe said as she left.

Joseph waited a minute and, once he was certain that she was downstairs, sneaked out of Phoebe's bedroom and into Paige's. Amenti had shown him a map of the manor and where everyone slept. How Amenti knew where the sisters slept was beyond him.

Joseph looked around Paige's room and tried to find something that he could use against her. Joseph found success under Paige's pillow. He found a diary hidden under her pillow, much like Paige's older sister. Joseph hid the diary with Phoebe's and carefully put everything back where it was. Joseph then left Paige's room and walked into a tall, muscular man. Joseph looked up at the man, who asked "Who are you?"

Joseph swallowed. There was something about this man that reminded Joseph of Amenti and the Source, or any other demon more powerful than he for that matter. Joseph answered and said "I'm Joseph."

"Why are you here, and what are you doing in that bedroom?" the man asked.

"I was attacked by some guy, I think Phoebe said his name was Amenti or something. Phoebe said I could rest in her room, but I had to go to the bathroom. I thought this was the bathroom, but it isn't," Joseph said.

"Clearly. Take care not to wander into another wrong room; and by the way, the bathroom is the second door on the left down that way," the man said, pointing down the hall. Joseph hurried down the hall and, after seeing that the man was still watching him, went into the bathroom. He waited an appropriate amount of time before flushing the toilet, turning the faucet on and back off, then leaving and returning to Phoebe's room. Joseph decided to wait for at least a few hours before going through Piper's things.

* * *

Phoebe had already told Piper what Joseph had told her. She and Piper had been able to accomplish next to nothing afterwords until Leo Orbed back in. "Leo!" Piper yelled. "What did the Elders say?"

"Hi, Piper. It's not good, I'm afraid. According to the Elders," Leo began in his standard "I'm setting up a story the Elders told me, be prepared" voice, "Amenti is a demon who feeds on love, like you said. He finds the love couples feel and drains it until the two are at each others' throats with hatred. Every time he feeds, he grows in power. This power does slowly fade a little over time, but Amenti is always given enough time to build up enough power that he can't be threatened by any demon other than the Source himself. If he's after you guys, he's probably been promised freedom from his imprisonment."

"Cole told us that much already, or at least we guessed at that much after what Cole told us," Phoebe said.

"There's more," Leo said. "The reason he was banished was because the Source was afraid that if he had enough time he could consolidate enough power to overpower and overthrow the Source single-handedly. If you can guess at how much power that would take, then you can see why we should be afraid of him."

"Great. Now what do we do?" Piper asked.

"The Elders did mention a way of ensuring that he doesn't come back for at least a while," Leo said.

"What is it?" Piper asked.

"They said that if his Love Pool were destroyed, he would lose a lot of his power and would be vulnerable to a Power of Three spell. He would come back, eventually, but without his love pool the Elders don't think he'd come back in you lifetimes," Leo said.

"His Love Pool? What is his Love Pool?" Piper asked.

"It's a pool that he has in his lair. It creates these potions that affect love. It also serves as a last resort power source for him and as a kind of accelerator for his return," Leo explained.

"Okay, so we destroy that, vanquish Amenti with a Power of Three spell, and then we get back to Christmas," Phoebe said.

Cole and Paige chose that moment to Shimmer in. Paige looked nauseous. "Well, I learned that the Source specifically told Amenti to kill you by Christmas, so if he doesn't before then he failed and is either dead or holed back up in his lair. You could always just bide your time until then, you know, go into hiding," Cole suggested while Paige tried not to puke.

"Absolutely not. We are not hiding from some demon just because he's semi unvanquishable. We will stop him, or at least delay him for however long we can," Piper said.

Paige finally regained control of her stomach. "That's what I told Cole when he suggested it to me," Paige said.

"Look, I just don't want Phoebe to die. Please," Cole directed his words to Phoebe, "don't go after him. Just wait until after Christmas and don't risk your life. I don't know what I'd do if you were to die, and Amenti is powerful enough that fighting him could easily lead to you death," Cole pleaded.

Phoebe looked at Cole lovingly. "I won't die, I promise," Phoebe whispered to Cole. "But you have to let us try. I could never live with myself knowing that I could have stopped him but hid away instead. I have to try; we have to try." Phoebe kissed Cole to show him that she meant every word she said.

After Phoebe and Cole broke apart, Paige asked "Should we ask Jerome anything now?"

"No, no, we can deal with Amenti without him. Let him think or whatever," Piper said. Paige relented.

"When do we go after him?" Phoebe asked.

"Do you have a spell?" Piper asked.

Phoebe nodded her head. "Then we go now," Piper said.

Author's Note:

This chapter was also very Jerome-lite. Don't worry; he'll be back in the next couple of chapters. If anyone has any ideas about anything, please let me know. Especially if the idea is about some new powers for the sisters, especially Paige. Like I said before, the poor girl has one Wiccan power, and even it isn't really full Wiccan. Any more Wiccan powers for her would be very much appreciated. Any thoughts on the Amenti's brother idea would also be appreciated.


	22. Chapter 22

Phoebe's future power in "Morality Bites" is called pathokinesis. Pathokinesis is overloading someone with emotions, which is an advancement of Phoebe's empathy power. Before I give her that, I need to give her empathy, which she won't get for a while longer. But having her have it is a good idea, and I will keep it in mind when I write her with empathy. Any more ideas for the sisters' powers, especially Paige's, would be greatly appreciated and taken into serious consideration (meaning they will very likely be used in some way).

Chapter 22:

"Alright, so where is Amenti's lair?" Piper asked.

"Wait a minute, you're actually going to go after him? I thought you were going to lure him out! You can't go into his lair!" Cole said.

"And why not?" Piper asked.

"Because, first of all, that's suicide. His lair is where he's the most powerful, and it's also where he'll have his Love Pool to use. Second of all, there's still the matter of the truce to think about," Cole explained.

"Wait, I thought the Source already broke the truce by sending Amenti after us?" Paige asked.

"Well, technically Amenti broke the truce by attacking, and the truce was violated by Amenti, so going after Amenti is allowed. But, the Underworld is viewed by all demons as their home, and any invasion to the Underworld, even a specific demon's lair, is considered an invasion against all demons. Then the truce would mean nothing and you'd have a never ending barrage of demons when you're supposed to be demon free," Cole said.

"So, what? We get attacked and can't even go after the attacker? What kind of rule is that?" Piper asked.

"The unbalanced rule that the forces of good had to make in order to convince the forces of evil to agree to the truce. They wanted more benefit on their side, and since they're the ones that do all the attacking, it seemed acceptable at the time," Leo explained.

"So, is there a way to summon Amenti?" Phoebe asked.

"Well, he feeds on love, so if we bait him with enough love he may come and get it," Paige started.

"What are you getting at?" Piper asked.

"If you and Leo and Phoebe and Cole were to all get together and start expressing how much love you have for each other then maybe Amenti would be so drawn that he wouldn't be able to resist the temptation," Paige suggested.

"Actually that might work," Cole said. "But when he comes, he'll be ready. It's best if we make absolutely certain that we are ready."

"Agreed. And we need to be especially careful that he doesn't drain us of our love," Piper said.

"Okay, so I don't really know what he's capable of. Cole?" Paige asked.

"Oh, uh, right. Well, I don't really know the extent of his powers," Cole said somewhat reluctantly.

"What do you mean by that?" Leo asked.

"I mean that he is so rarely seen or heard from that all I have to go off of are stories and legends," Cole said.

"Okay, well, give us the best you can," Phoebe said.

Cole looked at her. "Very well," he said. "Amenti can, obviously, absorb love to strengthen himself. More love means more power. He can throw fireballs and energy balls, and it is rumored that he can bend and manipulate shadows. There is also a rumor that Amenti has the power to project himself into the hearts of others and turn their love and passion into literal heat, burning them up. He can Flame, and I've heard reports that actually saw him Beaming once or twice. I know he has the power to see any place in the present, but he is restricted to a single location at a time."

"Wait, so he could be watching us right now?" Piper asked.

"Yes, he could. And I'm not sure how many other powers Amenti has up his sleeve. I do know a little bit about his Love Pool, though," Cole said.

"Okay, so on top of all that he has more?" Paige asked.

"Possibly. Care to hear about the Love Pool? He may use some of its substances against you," Cole said.

Piper motioned for Cole to go ahead. "The Love Pool is the only known way to create a potion known as Love's Draught. This draught creates an artificial love in mortals and witches that have no love. To those who do have love, it amplifies it to an insanely high level. The Love Pool also generates something known as Love's Serum, which opens the heart and causes all the love within to be released at once. This is dangerous not only because of the risk of all that emotion at once, but also because of how distracting all that pure, unrestrained love can be. I've heard a few rumors about other potions, but they differ so much that I don't know if any of them are accurate."

"So, on top of a whole bunch of powers, he also has potions that can be used to hurt us very badly. Great," Piper said.

"Yeah. That's why I wanted you to wait. But you insisted on going after him. If you're going to summon him, I suggest you do it here, where you're at your most powerful," Cole suggested.

"No, Amenti has already attacked Joseph before, we can't put him in the line of fire again," Phoebe said.

"Well, we can't just leave him here, either," Piper said.

"Do you want him to die, Piper?" Phoebe asked.

"No, of course not, but we can't leave him alone," Piper said. She and Phoebe kept arguing back and forth for a few minutes. Paige kept trying to get their attention, but when Piper and Phoebe got heated up like they were, they tended to ignore Paige.

Eventually, Paige shouted out "Hey, listen to me!" Piper and Phoebe both stopped mid sentence and turned to look at Paige. "What about Jerome?" Paige asked.

"Oh, you're right. We shouldn't leave him here alone, either," Piper said.

"That wasn't my point," Paige replied. "We can leave him here with Joseph. He is trustworthy, and he isn't trying to hurt us. His entire people are about protecting the Grand Design. They don't interfere, so I think we can trust him to watch a kid. Besides, he was sent here to help us, right?"

"Paige's right," Phoebe said to Piper.

"Alright, fine. We leave them here. Phoebe, go tell Jerome that he has to watch Joseph for a while," Piper said.

Phoebe gave a "Why me?" look as Piper pushed her up the stairs. Phoebe went to Jerome's room and saw that he was there, sitting in a chair, thinking. Jerome looked at Phoebe and asked "Can I help you?"

There was something about the tone of his voice that really annoyed Phoebe. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she felt like he was mocking her, or something. She ignored it, though, as she had more pressing matters to attend to at the moment. "Yeah, there's a demon after this kid and we need you to make sure he's okay while we go after the demon," Phoebe said.

"So I've been reduced to babysitting now?" Jerome asked.

"Yes, you have," Phoebe replied.

As Phoebe left the room Jerome said "Don't let him drain you." Phoebe stopped and listened to see if Jerome was going to say anything else, but he didn't. Phoebe didn't want to stick around with him, despite the fact that he clearly knew something about Amenti, so she just kept going.

As Phoebe walked around the corner she saw Joseph come out of Piper's room. "Hey, what were you doing in there?" Phoebe asked.

Joseph jumped and turned towards Phoebe. "I was just looking for the bathroom," he said.

Phoebe nodded and said "It's down the hall and to the left." Joseph walked down the hall and went into the bathroom. Phoebe went back downstairs and told Piper that Jerome would watch Joseph.

"Alright, now let's go somewhere nice and abandoned," Piper said. Leo Orbed Piper and Paige while Cole Shimmered Phoebe to an old abandoned warehouse that hadn't been used in decades.

* * *

Joseph had done it. He had diaries from all three sisters. As he sat in Phoebe's room he flipped through them. They were full of all kinds of valuable information. Fears, desires, hopes, dreams, passions, and much, much more. Amenti would be pleased.

* * *

Amenti, at that moment, was too busy to be pleased. Amenti knew about the sisters' plan to summon him and use a Power of Three spell on him. He had sent for the shape-shifter, who was just then arriving. Amenti was going to send the shape-shifter as a scapegoat in his stead. "Take my form. Quickly," Amenti said. The shape-shifter changed to look like Amenti.

"Now, the witches are going to try to summon me. I'll be going in invisible, and you will take my place. Don't worry," Amenti added at the shape-shifter's worried look, "I'll take care of you."

Amenti felt the pull of the spell and tasted all the love that the witches had set up as bait. He Flamed himself and the shape-shifter to the warehouse the sisters were in.

Amenti and the shape-shifter appeared in an old, run down factory that looked like it had once been used to make steel. Amenti was cloaked, so the sisters saw only his doppelganger. Amenti felt the love coming from Phoebe and Cole and from Piper and Leo. It was strong, it was powerful, and it was pure. It took all of Amenti's self control not to feed on it, for if he did he would give himself away. He also felt the love Paige had for her sisters. Family love was different, but just as powerful and just as potent. Amenti had to hold back as Piper froze his doppelganger and the three sisters began chanting. "Demon who feeds on love, let the powers above take from you your strength and might, and destroy with the love and light!"

The spell was clearly written for him, and it took all of Amenti's power and focus to get the cupid ring to redirect the focus of the spell from himself to the shape-shifter. The shape-shifter started to glow and sizzle. He then exploded in a blast of pink light. Amenti heard Phoebe yell "We did it!" and Piper and Paige express their relief that he was, supposedly, gone. He saw Leo Orb Piper and Paige and he saw Cole Shimmer Phoebe, presumably back to the manor. Amenti smiled and Flamed back to his lair, satisfied that his plan was working.

When everyone arrived back at the manor Phoebe ran upstairs to tell Joseph that it was safe for him to go home. Joseph took the news well, thanked Phoebe for everything, and left. The sisters then decided that it was high time to get back on with their Christmas preparations, and set about doing that.

Joseph Shimmered into Amenti's lair, back to his original, horned, green skinned demonic self. Amenti was watching his Love Pool intently. Joseph was about to say something when Amenti asked "What is it?"

Joseph, startled, replied "I have diaries from all three sisters. The plan was a success, but I fear some mysterious man you didn't take into account may have had suspicions about my true nature."

"I saw, and don't worry about him. He isn't our enemy; he's neutral. Now, I'll be taking those diaries," Amenti said. Amenti took the three diaries from Joseph.

"Shall I report to the Source?" Joseph asked.

"No, no, that's already been taken care of. The Source knows that I will not attack until mid January. Thank you for your services," Amenti said. Amenti threw a fireball at Joseph, vanquishing him. "Now that that loose end is tied up, I can watch in peace." Amenti then watched events unfold.

* * *

Jerome heard a call. Luckily, he wasn't being dragged away or intercepted this time. Jerome Orbed to the peak of a mountain, the exact mountain he didn't know but he did now that it was in the Cascade Mountain Range. Jerome turned around and saw his brother, Benjamin. "Hello, Jerome, my brother," Benjamin said.

"Benjamin." The reply was formal and lacked any kind of familiarity or affection. Benjamin looked hurt.

"I come bearing terrible news," Benjamin said.

"Great. What idiotic punishment have you come up with for me now?" Jerome asked.

"We aren't punishing you, we need you! He is coming, and though the Council, and every single one of the Observers, is putting every ounce of focus and power into holding Him back, I fear we may be unable to. I don't know if we will fail, but if we do, and He does come, then the only way to put him back is if we Ascend," Benjamin said.

Jerome, though normally difficult, if not impossible, to surprise or shock, was completely stunned at this piece of information. "How is this possible? The Grand Architect himself created the prison that holds Him," Jerome said.

"I know. He truly is that powerful. You, like most Linears, probably think that only an Ascended one can destroy a fully powered member of our people. This is wrong; He has the power to do so, as well," Benjamin said.

Jerome had mostly recovered from the shock of the information given to him. "Why are you telling me this?"

"As a warning. If He gets out, we will come and tell you. If that does happen, then you will have exactly four hours to find our base in the Sahara. Then, we will begin the Ascension, and we will try to return Him to His prison," Benjamin replied.

"Should I warn the sisters?" Jerome asked.

"No, the less they know about all of the higher powers that are above good and evil and focus solely on the Grand Design the better," Benjamin said. Benjamin looked uncomfortable about what he was about to say. "Marthis sent me here to warn you, but not so you'd be ready if the Ascension needs to happen. He wants you to watch for signs of His return while down here and tell us if you see anything."

"Very well, I will watch and if I see anything that signals His return, then I will let you know. Farewell," Jerome said, again with no emotion. Jerome Shimmered back to the manor.

Benjamin looked for a moment at where Jerome stood before and whispered "Farewell, brother." He then Flickered back to the Garden.

Author's Note:

So, what do you guys think? This chapter actually took a few days to write; normally I write a full chapter in one day. Any thoughts about the chapter, or guesses about who He is would be appreciated. I have plans for who He is, so I don't really need ideas for Him, but I want to hear (or read, in this case) your guesses and thoughts. If anyone has any suggestions for powers, Paige's especially, please let me have them. I think Paige desperately needs another Wiccan power. Any thoughts on the idea on Amenti's brother that I presented in an earlier chapter would also be greatly appreciated. No comments on Amenti's brother means I don't write him in.


	23. Chapter 23

Alright, so far it looks like no one wants a hate eater. Can't say I blame you; the idea was pretty out there. Luckily, lizardmomma was kind enough to suggest a power for Paige; astral projection. I think that giving her astral projection is a pretty good idea, so I'm using it. I do think that Paige's astral projection needs to be different than Prue's, but I'm not sure how yet. Maybe someone will help me out and give an idea. Just please don't suggest that she project through Orbs, because then I'd hypothetically explode. I want another Wiccan power for her because I think her Whitelighter half is too dominate, and astral projection through Orbs only reinforces how much of a Whitelighter she is. So please, no astral projection through Orbs. Nobody has placed any guesses as to who He is, and I was hoping I'd get something. I'll through a little more information about Him in this chapter so hopefully someone will guess. By the way, this is going to be a bit of a filler chapter, so it's short and fairly boring, but it covers everything the sisters did during their time off and gets events caught up to the middle of January. So, this long a somewhat rambly author's note is now done, here's the story.

Chapter 23:

Christmas came and went, as did New Year's. The sisters enjoyed their demon free break, and Jerome was forced to celebrate Christmas and New Year's. Jerome didn't know that Christmas was about gift-giving, so he gave no gifts. Normally this would be frowned upon, but considering the fact that Jerome didn't get any gifts other than a stone to sharpen his sword with from Paige ("I had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to get you," Paige had said), it wasn't too bad. There hadn't been any demonic activity for quite some time, in fact it was the middle of January and there hadn't been a single demon attack since Amenti. The Elders had seen it fit to restore ever single one of Jerome's teleportation abilities ("A lot of good those will do me," Jerome had said), and so was able to teleport in a vast variety of ways.

Jerome had also received several visits from Daniel, as Benjamin was needed to try to contain Him. The visits were all about His status and how close He was to breaking free, or how effectively the Council was putting Him back.

"I know the stories about Him, but how accurate are they, really?" Jerome asked during one of their meetings.

"Not very," Daniel admitted.

"Tell me more about Him, then, so I know what to look for," Jerome said.

Daniel thought for a while and eventually said "There is only so much I can tell you. You already know what He is, what more do you want?"

"I want to know His name and the extent of His powers. Yes, I know what He will do, what He has done, and what His goal is. I want more details," Jerome said.

"I can only say so much. He has many names. Confectrix, the destroyer; Evorsor, the obliterator; Segregatio, the elimination; Finis, the end; and Temeravit, the desecration. His original and true name is unknown to any save Him and the Grand Architect. It's possible even He doesn't know his true name any more. We've been avoiding referring to Him by any name if we can help it, but when we do we use Segravit, a mixture of two of His names that He used last time he was free.

"As for the full extent of His powers, I honestly don't know. I know He cannot create, only destroy. His powers are far greater than ours, and He possesses several that we do not. He has every single power that can cause destruction in existence, and He is completely invincible. The only way we can cause Him any pain is in our Ascended forms, and even then we can only seal Him away. There, I've told you everything I know about Him, or everything that I can tell you," Daniel said. Daniel then said farewell and left. Jerome thought about the information he had received and decided that the Council desperately needed to seal Him back up before it was too late.

During the several weeks Amenti drained more and more love and consolidated more and more power. He was stealthy about it, though. Only taking love from a few couples in about a hundred mile radius. The sisters had no idea he was roaming around, still alive. He had tried to convince the Source to let him wait until Valentine's Day to attack, but the Source refused to allow him that much time. Amenti had about two weeks until the Source was done waiting and Amenti was going back into his cave. Amenti had taken full advantage of the diaries and had learned everything he could from them. When the time came to attack, he'd be ready.

Author's Note:

Yeah, this is a really boring transition chapter. Sorry about that, but luckily I don't write those very often. If anyone has any suggestions as to how Paige's astral projection will be different than Prue's, please leave me a review telling me. I want the next chapter to be Paige discovering her new power, so it won't be up until some idea comes to me, be it from my own mind or the mind of one of you readers. Please also leave any guesses or thoughts as to who He is and what He does. I really enjoy seeing how you guys think, and am curious about how much you can get from what I've given you.


	24. Chapter 24

So, one review requesting astral projection for Paige and another review requesting control over the elements and not astral projection. As a result, I was given the inspiration to combine the two and create elemental astral projection. I'm going to call this a beta chapter and see what you reader people think of the power. If you don't like it, I'll remove this chapter and rewrite it with a different power. So, here you go.

Chapter 24:

Paige woke up tired and cold. She didn't feel sick, but she had no idea what happened. She got up out of bed and, other than being tired, felt no difficulty in her effort. She was still cold, but it was gradually beginning to fade. She ignored it, thinking it was just some dream or something she may have had and didn't remember. She was about to get ready for work, when she remembered that it was Saturday. Paige went downstairs to an already awake Piper and grabbed a bowl from the cupboard and a box of cereal from the pantry.

Paige was about to add the milk to her cereal when Phoebe came running down the stairs. "Piper!" Phoebe yelled.

Piper jumped and yelled "What? What's wrong?"

"Have you seen my jade necklace? I can't find it anywhere!"

Piper sighed and visibly relaxed. "No, sorry, haven't seen it!" she yelled back.

Phoebe ran back up the stairs to look for it. Paige continued eating while Piper continued doing whatever it was she was doing. Jerome came downstairs, Beamed a plate of waffles to the table, sat down, and began eating the waffles. Jerome, being Jerome, ate the entire plate of waffles in about half the time it took for Paige to finish her bowl of cereal.

About twenty minutes later Paige was sitting in the living room watching TV. She yawned as Piper walked in. "Late night?" Piper asked with a small grin.

"Actually, no, I went to bed pretty early. I don't know why I'm so tired," Paige replied.

"Are you sick?" Piper asked.

"No, I don't think so. I don't feel sick," Paige said.

"Are you sure?" Piper asked.

"Well, I did wake up feeling really cold, but it faded pretty quickly," Paige admitted. Paige heard a loud thunder clap and figured Jerome had just lightning teleported to some mysterious location.

Piper groaned. "I thought I asked him to stop doing that in the house!" she complained.

A couple of hours passed and Phoebe needed Paige to help her move her dresser. As Paige was doing that, Piper yelled for Paige to go downstairs and help her with a large tub of water. "Where did you get a tub of water?" Paige asked.

"Don't ask, just help carry," Piper replied. For the next three minutes Paige was essentially being torn in two by her sisters, both of whom needed her help carrying something. Paige had no idea why they wanted her to carry things, seeing as how she wasn't really built for heavy lifting, but she didn't want to disappoint her sisters. Paige was still new to the sister thing, and didn't know yet that she was allowed to say no or hold on a minute. As Paige felt like she was being torn in two she collapsed. Paige appeared in the tub of water, looking at Piper. Piper looked into the tub and screamed.

Paige wasn't sure what was wrong, so she asked. "Do you have any idea what happened?" Piper asked.

"Well, I'm not really sure how I got here, but I figured I Orbed. Why?" Paige replied.

"You're like made of water! Here, look," Piper grabbed the mirror off of the wall and held it over the tub. Paige saw herself, only she looked like she was made out of water. Not only did she look like water, but once she saw herself she realized she felt like she was made of water. She could move and flow, but couldn't keep her form, other than her face. Paige began to panic.

"Leo! Jerome! Anybody, get over here!" Piper yelled. Leo Orbed in and Jerome Flickered in.

"What?" Jerome asked.

"Look at Paige!" Piper ordered.

Jerome looked at Paige, then back at Piper. "Okay, so she astral projected, so what? It's probably just a progression of her powers."

"Does this look like astral projection to you? Prue could astral project. She didn't turn into water!" Piper said.

"I'll go check with the Elders," Leo said. He Orbed Up There.

"This is a form of astral projection called elemental astral projection. She projects her consciousness through an element rather than on the material plane. Since Prue was able to astral project, it makes sense that Paige develops something similar," Jerome said.

Leo returned and confirmed that Paige's power was in fact a natural progression and that she was supposed to develop it.

Author's Note:

So, that was my beta chapter for Paige's power. It's short, but it was written to see if you guys like the elemental astral projection idea. If you do, leave me a review saying that you like it. If not, leave me a review saying you don't like it. No feedback will mean that this chapter stays and Paige gets this power. If anyone wants there to be some kind of alterations to this power, tell me that, too.


	25. Chapter 25

Alright, since the beta went well here's another chapter with more of Paige's power. If anyone wants to see Piper or Phoebe get another power then leave a review with a suggestion for their powers. And on another note, as much as I love getting reviews, and I don't mean to sound ungrateful or anything, but if you leave a review that has an idea or a comment or question, please log in with an actual account instead of guest reviewing. It helps me known who to thank, ask questions, and/or otherwise talk to via PM. I promise not to be rude, ugly, or spam you with messages, I just may have a few questions for you specifically that don't need to be sent out via author's notes. Thank you for your understanding. And speaking of author's note discussions with guests, would mysterious named guest Amy88 please let me know what she/he thought of Paige's power? She/he was the one that wanted elemental control and not astral projection.

Chapter 25:

It took Phoebe about five minutes to realize that Paige had collapsed upstairs. She ran downstairs to Piper and said "Paige collapsed upstairs!"

"Yeah, I figured as much," Piper replied. Phoebe looked at her, puzzled and somewhat irritated at the apparent lack of concern Piper seemed to have for their baby sister.

Piper, in response to Phoebe's expression, gestured to the tub. "What? How did that happen? Was it a demon?" Phoebe asked.

"Nope, Paige just got a new power. She astral projects through the elements," Piper replied.

"Oh, that's so great honey!" Phoebe said, directing her words to Paige.

"My only concern is why hasn't she gone back to her body yet," Piper said.

"Since she isn't creating a new body for her astral consciousness to dwell in, it takes a lot less energy to maintain this. I don't think she'll go back to her body unless the water ceases to be an acceptable vessel," Jerome said.

"So, wait, I'm stuck this way?" Paige asked.

"Until you either master your new power or someone messes up the water," Jerome said.

"Like this?" Phoebe asked as she dropped a rock in the water. The water splashed and rippled, but Paige's face remained.

"Hey, that felt really, really weird!" Paige yelled.

"And now there's a rock in my tub of water," Piper said.

"Yeah, why do you have a tub of water?" Phoebe asked.

"Later!" Piper replied.

"Obviously that didn't work. When I say mess up the water, I mean on a molecular level. If he water boils or freezes, Paige's consciousness would be sent back to her body," Jerome said. Jerome looked at Paige and spoke to her. "With enough practice you should get good enough to go from one element to another without having to go back to your body each time. For now, you won't be able to go from one element straight to the next. And you will never be able to inhabit two elements at the same time."

"Why would I want to be in two elements?" Paige asked.

"If there isn't enough water to project into, and as you get better with this power it will require less of the element, then you can't project half of yourself into the water and the other half into some other element," Jerome said.

"Wait, ice and water are technically the same element, just with different molecular structures. Why are they counted as different elements?" Leo asked.

"Because of the difference in molecular structure. As it is, her consciousness is in the water and is using that particular molecular structure to house itself. If the structure changes, then her consciousness would have to readjust itself to handle the different conditions. With practice, then she should be able to handle being in water that freezes without being forced back to her own body. But, there would have to be enough ice for her to transfer to and enough water for her to be in. She'd have to cross from water to ice while it was freezing," Jerome explained.

"So, what you're saying is we either boil her or freeze her and that will put her back into her own body?" Piper asked.

"Yes," Jerome replied.

"To the freezer!" Phoebe yelled.

"Wait, I have a better idea," Piper said. "Leo, my powers are molecular based, right?"

"Yeah, why?" Leo asked.

Piper, in response, blew up the water. The water exploded in every direction, soaking everyone except Jerome. Phoebe noticed this and asked "Why isn't he soaked?"

"Because I'm telekinetic," Jerome replied.

"Cheater," Piper said as she wrung water out of her hair.

"Remind me never to get in a water balloon fight with him," Phoebe said as she copied her older sister.

Phoebe remembered the collapsed Paige upstairs and ran to check on her. Paige was groaning and moaning. "Paige! Are you okay?" Phoebe asked.

"My body hurts, I'm exhausted, and I feel really wet," Paige said.

"Paige, you're completely dry," Phoebe said.

"Huh? But I was water, how am I dry?" Paige asked.

Jerome walked in at that moment. "You weren't water, your consciousness was inhabiting water. You feel wet because your mind is used to having a liquid body, but your physical body was never in the water. It'll wear off in a while," Jerome said.

"And it makes sense that you'd be tired. Prue got really tired after astral projecting when she first developed the power," Phoebe said.

"And my body?" Paige asked.

"You collapsed and hit the floor when your consciousness left your body," Jerome said.

"And you've been in a ball on the floor since then. You're probably stiff," Phoebe said.

"Oh, okay. That makes sense," Paige said. "So, what else can my power do?"

"You're going to have to experiment and find that out for yourself," Jerome said. "Now, if you'll excuse me." Jerome Flickered away.

"Come on, Paige. Let's get you something to eat," Phoebe said. "By the way, what did it feel like to be blown up?"

"It really hurt. It felt like I was being ripped into a million pieces from every direct," Paige replied.

Phoebe and Paige walked downstairs while they were discussing the feeling of blowing up and into the kitchen. Phoebe led Paige into the kitchen and asked her what she was hungry for. "Um, I think just a peanut butter sandwich is fine. I have dinner plans tonight," Paige said.

"Ooh, a date? Who with?" Phoebe asked, immediately changing focus.

"Just a guy I work with. He asked me and I didn't want to hurt his feelings," Paige replied.

"So, are you over Jerome?" Phoebe asked.

Paige blushed. "I-I, n-no! I was never into him!"

Phoebe, despite herself, laughed. "Oh, please, Paige! You were so into him! From what I can see, you still are!"

Paige blushed even deeper red, She grabbed her sandwich, sat down, and ate in silence. Phoebe smiled and went outside to Piper.

"Paige's okay. She's a bit stiff from laying on the floor for as long as she did, and she's pretty tired, but she's okay," Phoebe said.

"Great. Can you help me carry this tub into the kitchen?" Piper asked.

"Sure. So, are you going to tell me why you have a giant tub of water?" Phoebe asked. She looked around and also asked "And will you tell me where Leo went?"

"The Elders want to talk to Leo about something. My guess would be Paige's new power. As for the tub, I really don't know. Jerome wanted it for some mysterious reason that he wouldn't tell me about," Piper replied.

"Wait, and you got him one? Why?" Phoebe asked.

"Because I figured 'What harm could he possibly do with a tub of water?' So, since I still want him to trust us and tell us about himself, I decided it would be a good idea to get it. I didn't know that it would weigh as much as it does, or that Paige would astral project herself into it," Piper replied.

"So, what does he need it for?" Phoebe asked.

Jerome Flickered behind Phoebe. "Because," he said, causing Phoebe to jump and drop the tub "Water is the easiest thing to be elementally astral projected into, and Paige needed something easy to do for her first test with her new power. A large tub of water was a prefect medium for her to learn about her power with. And I knew you two would both try to get her help at the same time, providing the impetus to split. By the way, here's you jade necklace, Phoebe," Jerome said. He handed Phoebe the necklace she had been looking for that morning.

"You took it? How did you even know about Paige's power?" Phoebe asked.

"The reason she woke up cold was because she projected herself into a glacier in the arctic circle while she slept. I saw her last night while I was up there," Jerome replied. Jerome Flickered off somewhere.

"Wow, not only is he insanely powerful, but he's terrifyingly brilliant," Piper said.

"Yeah," Phoebe replied. "Probably too brilliant."

Author's Note:

So, what do you think? Like I said earlier, I want to give Piper and Phoebe upgrades, too, so any ideas for them would be great. Leave a review telling me what you think and give me some ideas for Piper and Phoebe, and any requests for Paige's new power would be wonderful, too.


	26. Chapter 26

I'm glad people like my twist on Paige's astral projection. Now it's time I get back to Amenti and his existence.

Chapter 26:

"It's time," Amenti said. It was a simple statement, yet Steve, who was the only demon left after Amenti's previous "attack" on the Charmed Ones, knew its significance. Steve didn't know the plan itself, but he knew that Amenti was ready.

"Should I tell the Source?" Steve asked.

"No, don't bother. The Source will find out on his own soon enough. Paige seems so insecure about herself and her sisters. She doubts they truly love her, and often wonders if, to them, she's just a replacement Prue. On top of all that, she has an inferiority complex towards Prue, as well. You are to play these doubts, these feelings, and amplify them. I don't care how you do it, separate Paige from her sisters," Amenti said.

"What will you do?" Steve asked. "Sir," he added hastily after receiving a glare from Amenti.

"Paige isn't loveless, but neither is she deeply loved or deeply in love. Her sisters, however, are. I will be playing and feeding off of their love," Amenti said. "To tear them apart."

Paige was, at that moment, stuck in a rock. Literally. She had astral projected herself into a large boulder. Luckily it was right outside and in the backyard, so no one saw. Piper was at P3 and Phoebe was off with Cole, doing who knows what. Paige didn't want to think too hard about it. She tried calling for help, but no one was around to hear her. Being a rock felt so different from being water. Water was free and could flow and shift. Rock was stiff, rigid, and unmoving. She called for Jerome. Somehow, though Paige didn't know how, Jerome heard her and Orbed in front of her.

Jerome took one look at Paige, sighed, and made a crushing motion with his fist. The boulder that Paige was in imploded on itself, effectively expelling Paige from the boulder. She reappeared in her body, which was on the couch at the time. Paige felt really stiff and rigid, so she tried stretching. To her alarm she couldn't move. "Why can't I move?" she asked, panicked.

"Relax, you were a rock. Rocks don't stretch or move, so neither will you for a few minutes until your mind readjusts to being in a human body again," Jerome explained.

"Oh, okay. So, I just need to wait a bit. I can handle this," Paige said, more to herself.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," Jerome said. He began to Flicker, when Paige stopped him.

"Could you stick around until Piper or Phoebe get back? I don't want to be alone if I accidentally project myself into something else," Paige asked.

Jerome sighed and agreed to stay. He sat down in one of the chairs and began watching TV. The program was about New Year's. "I still don't understand why you make such a big deal out of a new year. It's the same as any other day," Jerome said.

"It's the first day of a brand new year! Why wouldn't we celebrate it?" Paige asked.

"First day on your calendar, but not on the other calendars. And I suppose maybe a fancy meal is alright for a new year, but the way you humans celebrate it is like it's a new millennium. Now those are parties," Jerome said.

Paige and Jerome continued their discussion/debate for several hours. Paige enjoyed herself immensely and Jerome found that, despite himself and which much surprise, he didn't mind it either. He almost, almost, mind you, enjoyed it.

Steve was standing behind Amenti. "Yes?" Amenti asked, irritated.

"Well, it's just that, I, um, well, I, uh-"

"Out with it!" Amenti snarled.

"I don't know how to make Paige insecure!" Steve squealed as he flinched from Amenti's rage.

Amenti groaned. He walked over to his Love Pool and filled two vials with some green liquid. Amenti walked back to Steve, handed him the vials, and said "Get those in Piper and Phoebe."

"Why? I-I mean what do they do?" Steve asked.

"It's called Love Sickness. It infects them with a magical virus that messes up their powers. It will last about a week; and they'll feel so awful and frightened that Piper and Phoebe will use Paige as their own personal butler, slighting her and making her feel even less loved and even more like a simple replacement," Amenti replied.

Steve bowed and Shimmered away. "Of all the lousy demons," Amenti muttered as he returned to sensing the Charmed Ones.

Piper was at P3, working hard. She was so busy that she didn't notice Steve Shimmer in and spike her drink with the Love's Sickness. She turned around, causing Steve to jump and Shimmer away before she could see him. Piper took a long drink from the spiked beverage and went back to work. About twenty minutes later she had a small coughing fit, freezing and unfreezing everyone and everything in the room with each cough. Piper noticed, told Jake she wasn't feeling too well, and quickly drove home, calling for Leo along the way.

Phoebe and Cole were walking through the park, alone. Steve Shimmered in and spike Phoebe's water bottle. Phoebe and Cole were so lost in each others' eyes that they didn't notice Steve take the bottle, open it, pour the potion in it, close it, or put it back in Phoebe's backpack. He sighed and thought "Amenti's going to be one terrifyingly power demon when he drains their love." He then shuddered and Shimmered back to Amenti's lair. Thirty minutes later Phoebe got a headache and an itchy throat. She coughed a few times, levitating a few feet every cough. She looked at Cole, who in turn looked at her. They nodded and Cole Shimmered himself and Phoebe back to the manor.

"Master, it is done. The two older witches are infected with the virus," Steve said.

"I know. Now, while they're sick Paige will be pushed and pulled around with no care for her feelings or life. Soon, she will feel so insecure about her relationship with her sisters that we'll be able to easily break it," Amenti said.

"Master, why not kill them? If it was that easy to spike their drinks, why not just kill them with poison or something?" Steve asked.

"All the poison I have uses love to kill and is slow acting. They'd trace it to me, or at least to my Pool, and find the antidote before they die. This way weakens them so they'll be easy kills and makes it considerably more difficult to trace back to me. After all, who will make the connection between love and their sickness?" Amenti said.

"What is the connection, anyway?" Steve asked.

"Their love is solidified into a virus that messes with their powers and gives them very nasty cold-like symptoms. The love is not lost, so they won't notice it," Amenti replied. "In fact, odds are they'll identify it as a demonic virus designed to expose witches. Love Sickness is extremely similar, and neither are deadly. The Charmed Ones will be sick, weak, and arguing by the end of the week," Amenti said.

Author's Note:

Yeah, this is a bit of a shorter chapter than most of my plot chapters, but it's the exposition of Amenti's evil plan. So, any thoughts on the plan and the chapter in general would be awesome. Any ideas for how Paige can use her new power to help defeat Amenti would be nice, too. And lastly, any thoughts on powers for Piper and Phoebe would be really nice, too.


	27. Chapter 27

I'm trying to think of ways for Phoebe and Piper's powers to get messed up with their sickness. So far all I have for Piper is freezing for coughing and blowing stuff up for sneezing. Phoebe, so far, just levitates for both. If anyone wants to see Piper or Phoebe's powers mess up in any other way, let me know how. They're going to be sick for a couple of chapters, so there's time to add detriments to their illnesses.

Chapter 27:

Piper and Phoebe both returned at the same time with their respective loves. Piper was still coughing, freezing and unfreezing Leo and Cole frequently. Phoebe coughed less frequently, but more violently, causing her to levitate several feet in the air per cough. Paige and Jerome heard the coughing, and Jerome was able to detect their powers going off. "Why is this happening?" Piper asked, after she stopped coughing.

Leo, who was not frozen at the time, answered "I don't know. Maybe your powers are growing?"

"This isn't growth, this is backwards progress!" Piper snapped.

"It could be a demonic bug," Cole suggested.

"Wait, what?" Piper asked.

"A demonic bug. It infects the host witch, messes with her powers, gives her nasty cold symptoms, and goes away after a week or two," Cole explained.

"What good does that do?" Piper asked.

"Well, it does several things. First, it ca-" Cole was cut off by Phoebe sneezing.

Phoebe levitated several feet in the air, hitting her head on the ceiling. "Ow!" she said.

"Well, in Phoebe's case," Cole continued "she runs the risk of injuring herself by levitating too high. I'm not sure what risks you run, other than becoming incredibly weak while sick and an easy target."

"Great, so Phoebe and I will be bedridden for the next couple of weeks?" Piper asked.

"Yeah," Cole said.

"And even if you feel up to leaving," Jerome said "you need to stay put. Stay in the manor until you completely recover. We can't run the risk of exposure."

"Well, at least now you'll know how I felt when I was sick," Paige said. Piper glared at her.

"Not funny, Paige. We're vulnerable with our powers messed up. And if we're too weak to fight off demons, who's going to when they attack?" Piper asked.

"I'm fine. I don't feel sick at all," Paige said.

"The virus is spread through water. You didn't drink any infected water, so you weren't infected," Cole explained.

"But, Paige, you can't fight off demons alone. Your still pretty new to this, and you won't have the Power of Three," Phoebe said.

"No, but she'll have the power of me," Jerome said. "I was sent to help, and you dying wouldn't help you much. I'll protect you, at least until you recover." Jerome, though sincere, lacked any real concern or care in his voice.

"Gee, thanks for the concern," Phoebe said.

"Is there some kind of cure or something we can take?" Piper asked.

"Time is the only cure. It will go away after a couple of weeks," Jerome replied.

"Couldn't you or Leo heal us?" Phoebe said.

"You're not injured; you're being attacked. If we healed the damage the virus already inflicted it would only prolong the disease. It'll make it's course through you, then die off on its own," Jerome replied.

"I'm going to go and check with the Elders anyway, see if they know anything else," Leo said. He then Orbed Up There.

"I could go check Underground and see if I can find out who sent the virus," Cole offered.

"No, we'll need you here if any demons attack while we're sick," Phoebe said. "Besides, now you get to take care of me." Cole grinned at the tone in Phoebe's voice. Phoebe started coughing and Cole's expression immediately turned to concern, especially after Phoebe hit her head on the ceiling again.

"All we can do is wait. Though, I might be able to cast a spell that nullifies any magic in your rooms," Jerome offered.

"Why?" Phoebe asked.

"So you stop hitting the ceiling. I can't imagine it feels good to hit your head against the ceiling," Jerome said.

"He has a point," Paige said.

"I don't know. If a demon attacks in our bedrooms, no one will have any powers to fight the demon with," Piper said.

Piper's breathing hitched. She turned to face the wall, to avoid sneezing on everyone, sneezed, and blew up half the wall. Everyone except Jerome flinched. Jerome just looked at the wall, intrigued, as if thinking "Well, that was interesting."

Piper turned to Jerome and said "Cast the spell!"

* * *

Amenti was watching the Charmed Ones from his lair. He heard about Jerome and Cole staying to fight off any demon attacks. Amenti could easily handle Cole, especially if he drained Cole's love for Phoebe first. Jerome was a mystery. Amenti could feel great power from him, but the full extent eluded him. Amenti was unsure if he had enough power to defeat Jerome. Jerome, however, was an emotional boulder. Nothing, except very deep within. Amenti sensed a tiny amount of love, deep within Jerome's soul. He couldn't identify who or what the love was for, but it was there. It just needed a little help surfacing. A little Love's Serum mixed with some of Love's Draught should help surface and awaken that hidden sliver of love. Amenti got to work.

* * *

Leo Orbed back to the manor. He looked around, saw the destroyed wall, several shattered pots and a blown up table and asked "What happened here?"

"Ask your wife," Cole said.

"Piper?" Leo asked, almost reluctantly.

"You know how I freeze when I cough?" Piper asked.

"Yeah," Leo replied, unsure what she was getting at.

"Well, apparently sneezing means stuff blows up," Piper said.

"Really? But Phoebe has the explosive sneeze, yours are usually pretty mild," Leo said.

"Yeah, whatever. What did you find out from the Elders?" Piper asked.

"Nothing useful," Leo replied.

Piper sneezed again, blowing up part of the couch. Luckily it was the middle, and no one ever wants to sit in the middle. "Jerome, are you done yet?" Piper asked.

"With what?" Leo asked.

"He's working on a spell that will keep Phoebe and Piper from magically hurting themselves or the furniture while they're in their bedrooms," Paige replied. Leo looked at the couch and said that that was a good idea.

"Alright, here it goes," Jerome said. "Piper and Phoebe have little control, so in their bedrooms create a hole that cancels out powers during all their sick hours."

Nothing seemed to happen, but everyone was downstairs. Piper and Phoebe went to their respective bedrooms. Phoebe coughed and didn't levitate, Piper sneezed and nothing exploded. "It worked!" they both yelled.

"Great! Now just stay in there until you're better!" Leo yelled back.

* * *

Amenti was watching the sisters as the mysterious man protected their bedrooms from all powers. "So, is he a witch? No, I don't think so. He's far too powerful to be any kind of witch. Neither is he a warlock or demon. What is he?" Amenti muttered to himself. Oh, well. It didn't matter. Regardless of what he was, he wouldn't be immune to Amenti's potion. All he needed was to find a way to capture Jerome.

Author's Note:

So, how was it? Does anyone have any suggestions at all for ways to mess with Phoebe or Piper's powers? If so, let me know. If anyone wants to request ways for Jerome to get kidnapped or otherwise "drugged," I guess, let me know.


	28. Chapter 28

I was given a suggestion for how Phoebe's power of premonition could be messed up, and I like it. So, here it is.

Chapter 28:

Phoebe and Piper had gotten progressively worse and worse. Neither had the strength to walk, and they could barely sit up. Piper's sinuses were plugged, and Phoebe's head was pounding. Piper kept coughing and sneezing, yet Phoebe seemed to be over these symptoms. She had moved on to nausea and headaches. Phoebe quickly got tired of her bedroom, and asked Leo to Orb her downstairs on the couch. It was considerably less dangerous than letting Piper downstairs, and Phoebe seemed to be done with the symptoms that messed with her powers. Unless she were to develop the ability to breathe fire or spit lava or something. Then her nausea could be a problem.

Leo Orbed Phoebe onto the couch. "Thanks, Leo," Phoebe said, though she sounded so weak. "Could you send Paige down here? I need her to help me get to the bathroom."

Leo Orbed upstairs to Paige. "Phoebe needs your help going to the bathroom," he told her.

"Really? I just helped Piper like five minutes ago. By the way, sink needs fixing," Paige said. When Leo looked at her with a slightly confused expression on his face Paige fake-sneezed. Leo nodded his head in understanding and went to see if he could fix/heal the sink.

Paige walked downstairs to Phoebe. "Hey, Pheebs, need some help?" Paige asked. Phoebe nodded and Paige helped get her up and walk her to the bathroom. Unlike Piper, Phoebe was too nauseous to keep herself upright and leaned completely on Paige. Paige struggled with the complete weight of her older sister. Eventually the two were able to get Phoebe in the bathroom and back on the couch. Paige sat down on the couch, next to Phoebe, to rest.

Leo started calling for Paige to help him with something. Paige got up and walked upstairs. She walked back and forth like that for the rest of the day, eventually collapsing from sheer exhaustion. Phoebe was too weak to move from the couch, and didn't feel up to Orbing or Shimmering or any other form of teleporting, so she stayed on the couch during the night. As she slept, she dreamed.

_She saw a huge creature with black skin and huge muscles. The monster had two long spikes protruding from the back of its head, horrible, monstrous eyes that glowed a wicked red, long claws that protruded from each of its fingertips, and a slightly elongated face with vicious fangs. It emitted an aura of pure, raw power and destruction. The monster was chained with glowing, golden chains. The chains seemed to stretch on through infinity, and there was nothing other than the monster and the golden chains, one around each wrist. The monster roared, grabbed the chains with its hands, pulled on the chains, and shattered them. It roared in triumph._

_ The dream shifted to a dark cave. Phoebe had no idea where it was, but it was empty. Then the monster, herself, her sisters, and Jerome came. Jerome was bloodied and wounded. The monster seemed to be smiling, though it was difficult to tell through its grotesque face. "So," it said "these are the mighty Charmed Ones. Are these really the best the Grand Design has to offer? Pity." The monster then shot black lightning at them. Jerome, despite his injuries, leapt in the way of the blast, protecting the sisters. It hit him and knocked him to the ground, smoking and sizzling._

_ The monster snarled and said "Are you still alive? You are one persistent Defender."_

_ The dream faded and reappeared in the same cave, but this time the monster stood over Paige, who was on the ground, bleeding. Phoebe saw herself and Piper dead on the ground, burnt and charred. Jerome seemed to be dead on the ground a few feet away from Paige. The monster built up a ball of black energy, held it over its head, and said "This will end it!"_

_ The monster threw the ball at Paige, only to have Jerome get up and leap in the way. The ball hit Jerome full force and blasted him several meters away. The monster snarled and said "Why do you insist on interfering with my plans? What do you have to gain?"_

_ Jerome stood and responded, saying "I would sacrifice anything and everything for Paige!"_

_ The monster snarled and said "Then die!" The monster waved its hand it front of Jerome. Jerome glowed in a dark light and screamed in pain. He collapsed._

_ "What did you do to me?" Jerome gasped._

_ "I destroyed your power of invincibility. Now," the monster said as it created another black energy ball, "die!"_

_ The monster threw the energy ball at Jerome. Jerome disintegrated into dust. Phoebe expected him to reform, but he stayed dead. "Jerome, no!" Paige screamed._

Phoebe gasped awake, sweating and panting. She saw a worried Cole watching her. "Are you okay, Phoebe?" he asked.

"I-I just had a nightmare, I think," Phoebe said.

"You think?" Cole asked.

"It felt kind of like a premonition, but also like a dream," Phoebe said.

"Have you ever had a premonition in your sleep before?" Cole asked.

"No," Phoebe replied.

"Then it was probably just a fevered nightmare," Cole said.

"It felt so real, I could see and hear everything so clearly," Phoebe said. "Do you know of any black skinned monsters?"

"What else did it look like?" Cole asked.

"It had huge muscles, two horns, red eyes, long claws, and fangs. It was huge and insanely powerful. It killed me, Piper, and Jerome," Phoebe said.

Cole looked at her. "Isn't Jerome invincible?"

"I thought so, but the monster took away Jerome's invincibility," Phoebe replied.

"Well, I don't know of anything like that," Cole said. "It was probably just a nightmare."

"Yeah, I hope so," Phoebe replied.

Paige came running down the stairs. "What's the matter?" Paige asked. "I heard Phoebe screaming."

"What took you so long?" Cole asked.

"Piper was worried, and wanted to know what was wrong. Are you okay?" Paige asked.

Phoebe had a premonition of when she was sick many years before, with Prue taking care of her. Phoebe, however, had no idea she was having a premonition, and through her fever she became a little confused. She thought what she was seeing through her premonition was happening at that moment. She also seemed to forget that Prue was dead. "I'm fine, Prue," Phoebe said.

Both Cole and Paige looked at her, confused. "Prue's dead, remember?" Cole said.

"Yeah, she died and you met me at her funeral, remember?" Paige asked.

Phoebe snapped out of her premonition and, in a brief moment of emotional weakness, started crying.

"Are you okay, Phoebe?" Cole asked.

Phoebe nodded and said "It's just that, whatever just happened, made me remember how Prue always used to be the one to take care of me when I was sick. I miss her so much!" Phoebe started crying.

Paige felt really bad. Phoebe had her! Paige was perfectly capable of taking care of her big sister! Paige also felt guilty for feeling like that. It was natural for Phoebe to miss her oldest sister. It was normal to miss a dead relative. And Paige was upset with Phoebe for doing just that. "Phoebe," Paige began, "is there anything that Prue used to do for you that I can do?"

Phoebe shook her head and laid back down. "All I want to do is go back to sleep," she said.

"Okay, good night," Paige said as she went back up the stairs.

Phoebe flashed back into her fevered premonition mode. She saw Jerome picking her up and carrying her to her room. Phoebe started arguing, saying "I'm okay, really! I just need sleep!"

Cole looked at her, confused, and said "Then go to sleep, Phoebe. It's alright, you can rest."

Phoebe started screaming "Put me down, I'm fine!" Cole started to worry. She was wide awake, but she seemed to be hallucinating. Cole yelled for help.

Jerome, Paige, and Leo all came rushing downstairs. There was an explosion that came from upstairs. Leo sighed and went back upstairs to help his wife back into the safety of her bedroom. Jerome took one look at Phoebe and said "She's trapped in some kind of premonition mode, likely due to the virus. We need to get her back into her room." Jerome then picked her up and carried her to her room. Since Phoebe was trapped a few minutes in the future she didn't say anything to argue. Instead she was muttering something under her breath that Jerome chose to ignore. The second he passed Phoebe's door Phoebe gasped.

"What just happened?" Phoebe asked.

"You were stuck in a premonition. You just snapped out of it," Jerome replied.

"How is that possible?" Phoebe asked.

"The virus is messing with your powers," Jerome said.

"But premonitions aren't active powers," Phoebe argued. "How can the virus affect them?"

"Active or not, the virus will mess with your powers. Your basic powers are safe, any and all others are fair game. Goodnight," Jerome said. He left Phoebe's room. Phoebe quickly fell asleep.

Paige, however, couldn't sleep. Phoebe seemed to prefer Prue to her. Paige used to feel like she was just an inferior replacement for Prue, like replacing a nice TV with a lower quality one out of necessity. Paige had gotten over that, but now some of that old feeling was starting to come back.

Author's Note:

New chapter, more diseased problems, and messing up Paige's bond with her sisters. The premonitions while sick idea was given to me by Daicy. Feel free to post any other ideas or thoughts or other reviewing purposes.


	29. Chapter 29

Here's the next chapter. I'm trying to push the sisters' bond to the breaking point, and Amenti is a subtle, careful demon. As a result, these next several chapters will be slow, at least plot-wise.

Chapter 29:

Amenti roared in fury. He threw several fireball's at the captured cupid. The cupid suffered greatly, but didn't die. "Why am I still alive?" the cupid gasped.

"Shut up! As long as I keep feeding you the Draught, you won't die!" Amenti roared.

Steve was standing in the corner, trembling in fear. "Master, what's wrong?" Steve asked.

"That idiot shape-shifter brought me Prue's diary instead of Piper's!" Amenti roared. "What can I do with this?"

Steve trembled and waited. Amenti was brilliant, he would soon think of something. "Wait," Amenti said. There it was; Amenti had an idea. Steve didn't doubt that it would be brilliant.

"This diary is full of Prue's secrets. Secrets that can be used against Piper and Phoebe," Amenti said. Amenti opened the diary and began to read it. "So much sisterly love, love that I can use against them."

"Yes, master, that's brilliant, brilliant!" Steve said, knowing perfectly well when to suck up.

Amenti merely grunted and told Steve to feed the cupid more of the Love's Draught. The cupid fought and resisted, but Steve force fed the Love's Draught to the cupid. The cupid spat it out. "That's a waste of time. Once in your mouth, it's in you," Amenti said. "You're under its effects."

"Why do you insist on keeping me around?" the cupid asked.

"Simple. I need your ring, and if you die the ring loses its power," Amenti said.

"You shouldn't use love as a weapon. Love is the water of life, the fuel of all existence, the greatest of all powers!" the cupid said.

"Shut up. Love is fuel, and I use that fuel to give myself power and strength. I also use that fuel to weaken my enemies," Amenti said. "You are just a cupid. Your job is to supply me with that fuel, with that power."

"That is not my job. My job is to bring people who are meant for each other together. And I have a name," the cupid said.

"And that name would be?" Amenti asked, not really caring.

"My name is Coop," the cupid replied.

Phoebe didn't have any premonitions as she slept. She didn't have any more nightmare about the hideous monster. Paige, however, couldn't sleep. She did have nightmares. She had nightmares about Prue coming back and Piper and Phoebe kicking her out of the manor, stripping her of her powers, and never bothering with her again. The nightmares woke her up. She was sweating and panting. She reached up and felt her cheek. It was wet.

Paige didn't realize that those dreams were planted. Amenti used the cupid ring to plant those nightmares into Paige's mind. She was experiencing those nightmares because Amenti wanted her to, not because her subconscious was trying to tell her something.

Jerome, somehow, was able to sense that something was wrong with Paige. He didn't know what it was, or why he could sense it, but he did know she was suffering. Jerome chose to ignore it; after all, he had shown indifference to others before. This time, however, it was slightly harder to ignore her pain.

Morning came, and Phoebe felt well enough to eat breakfast. In fact, she felt so well that she was willing to try walking, on her own, downstairs to the kitchen to eat with the healthy people. She made it all the way downstairs when the premonition hit her. This time, she was aware that she wasn't in the right time, but she wasn't sure if it was supposed to happen or if it was another attack from the virus. She looked around and saw Prue, sitting in a chair facing Phoebe. Prue was reading a book, though Phoebe couldn't tell what book. She looked up and smiled at Phoebe. Phoebe was beginning to feel dizzy. She saw Prue's face change from a smile to an expression of concern. Phoebe collapsed and gasped out "Prue!"

Cole, Paige, and Jerome were in the kitchen. Leo decided to stay with Piper, who was in a very foul mood. Piper had felt better, too, but kept coughing and sneezing. She wasn't allowed to try to eat downstairs with the healthy people, mostly because none of the healthy people wanted their breakfasts sneezed on and/or blown up in their faces. Cole didn't want to keep being frozen while he was trying to eat his waffles, and Jerome didn't want to regenerate any blown up limbs if possible, especially not in front of sick, nauseous people. Leo didn't want to have to clean up any potential kitchen shrapnel.

Cole heard Phoebe collapse and everyone ran into the foyer. They saw Phoebe on the ground and heard her gasp Prue's name. "Phoebe, Phoebe!" Cole shouted. "Phoebe, are you okay?" Cole was shaking Phoebe gently, trying to wake her up.

Eventually, Phoebe's eyes opened, she looked at Paige, and asked "Prue? What happened?"

Paige just looked at her silently, mouth open. "Phoebe, that's not Prue. That's Paige, your other sister," Cole said. His comment was innocent, but it cut straight through to Paige's heart. She was just the other sister. The one that came to complete the Power of Three after Prue, the prefered sister, died.

Jerome sensed her discomfort at that comment. Why am I sensing things from Paige? Jerome thought. Has the Council given me the power to sense without my knowing? No, if he could sense he would be able to sense more than just Paige's discomfort and pain. What was it? Why could he sense Paige?

Jerome was brought from his thoughts by hearing Cole explain to Phoebe that Prue was dead. Phoebe was still trapped in premonition mode, so she was oblivious to what Cole was saying. "You'll have to get her back into her room in order to snap her out of her premonition," Jerome said.

Cole, in response, carried Phoebe up to her bedroom. Jerome followed. As soon as Phoebe passed through the doorway she came to her senses. "What's going on? Cole, why are you carrying me?" she asked.

"You were trapped in a premonition. This was the only way to bring you back," Cole said.

"You need to stay in your room, regardless of how you feel. If you're lonely, we can bring you into Piper's room and you two can stay together. But you cannot leave your room alone," Jerome said.

Phoebe pouted, but agreed to stay after Cole asked her to and looked at her with concern in his eyes. She yielded.

Jerome turned to leave the two of them alone and walked back downstairs. Paige was still in the foyer. She gestured for Jerome to follow her into the living room. Jerome thought of his breakfast burrito, remote Orbed it to him, and followed her. When Jerome entered Paige looked at the burrito somewhat strangely, as if asking "Why did you bring that?"

Paige didn't ask that, but instead asked "What can you tell me about Prue?"

Jerome froze. He wasn't expecting that. "What do you want to know?" he asked, hoping to cover himself. He did, after all, play a major role in Prue's death.

"Who was she, what was she like, how much did she love her sisters, and how did she die?" Paige asked.

Jerome began to be a bit concerned. He didn't want to answer that last question. "Well, I don't know her that well. She was very controlling. Everything had to be the way she wanted. She held grudges for ridiculously long periods of time. As far as loving her sisters, she loved them unconditionally. She loved them more than anything else in the world. And I think you know how she died. Shax killed her," Jerome said.

"Are you sure you don't know more than that?" Paige asked.

Jerome thought about her death. About his role in it. "No, I don't," Jerome said.

Author's Note:

This was a very slow chapter. The next few will be like this, and eventually Jerome is going to admit he had a role in Prue's death. On another note, I need ideas for getting Jerome captured. I have some spinning around in my head, but I want more input so the ideas stop spinning and decide to solidify into something I can write. I also still want powers for Piper and Phoebe.


	30. Chapter 30

I was given a new suggestion for Piper and Phoebe's powers! In order to do Phoebe's effectively, I think I'd need her to develop empathy first, so her power will come later. Piper's can come much sooner, so here it is. And by the way, keep in mind that Jerome killed Prue, so he isn't going to point out the good traits in her. That's why he was so negative towards her in the last chapter.

Chapter 30:

Piper hadn't sneezed in a few hours, and didn't feel any tickle in her nose, so she figured she could risk taking a five minute (or more, depending on whether she was strong enough to walk well) trip to the bathroom. The second she stepped outside her door, she fell through the floor. She hit the ground, hard, and, after yelling out "Ow!", called for Leo.

Leo Orbed to her and asked "Piper, what are you doing down here?"

"I just had to use the bathroom, and the second I stepped outside my door I fell through the floor!" Piper squealed.

"You fell through the floor?" Leo asked.

Piper nodded. "How? That's not one of your powers," Leo said.

"I don't know! Could you please just Orb me to the bathroom and then back to my room?" Piper asked, too tired for any snarky, sarcastic comments.

Leo Orbed Piper to the bathroom and to her bedroom. "Oh, Leo?" Piper asked.

"Yes?"

"Could you check with the Elders about my powers?" Piper asked.

Leo smiled. "Of course," he said. Leo then Orbed Up There, after having left Piper's room, to talk to the Elders.

Phoebe hobbled into Piper's room. "Phoebe, what are you doing in here?" Piper asked.

"Um, I got lonely," Phoebe replied, somewhat lamely.

"Well, why aren't you downstairs with everyone else? I thought you stopped coughing and sneezing," Piper asked.

"Yeah, I enter a kind of premonition mode if I'm out of one of these rooms for too long," Phoebe reply.

"Really? What do you see when you do that?" Piper asked.

"Prue. I see times when Prue was taking care of me when I was younger," Phoebe replied.

"Prue," Piper said, almost in a whisper. "I miss her so much."

"Me too," Phoebe replied. "I really wish she were here right now. We'd be better now if she were. She wouldn't let us stay sick."

Piper smiled. "Yeah, she'd somehow find a way to vanquish this demon virus we're suffering through," Piper said.

Piper and Phoebe kept talking about Prue. They didn't realize that Paige was listening. Paige didn't mean to eavesdrop, but she heard Phoebe mention Prue's name and Paige stopped to see what they were talking about. Paige also heard the underlying message in they're seemingly innocent conversation. They wanted Prue and not her. Paige wasn't Prue, and she would never be as good as Prue. Phoebe and Piper loved Prue more than they did her. They wanted Prue, and not her. Jerome hadn't said much about Prue, but what he did say wasn't very flattering. In fact, the only thing that Jerome said about Prue that was flattering was that she loved her sisters more than anything. Why was Prue so much more loved than she was? Maybe she should ask Piper and Phoebe. Paige walked into Piper's room and said "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Hey, Paige. We're fine," Phoebe said.

"Other than the fact that we're sick and under bedroom arrest," Piper commented.

"Mind if I come in?" Paige asked.

"Sure, take a seat," Phoebe said, patting the spot next to her on Piper's bed.

Paige sat down. "What's on your mind, Paige?" Phoebe asked.

"I- when you called me Prue downstairs-"

"That was just because I was trapped in a premonition about Prue. I know who you are: you're my baby sister, Paige," Phoebe interrupted.

Paige warmed up a little at that comment. Phoebe, at least, liked Paige for who she was. Even if she preferred Prue, she still had room in her heart for Paige. "I know, but I was wondering what you could tell me about Prue. I never got to meet her," Paige said.

"Prue was... amazing. She was kind, loving, confident, and powerful," Piper said.

"She was also bossy, controlling, and stubborn," Phoebe added, with a smile. "But not even Prue was perfect."

From the tone in Phoebe's voice, Paige could tell that Phoebe respected and loved Prue a great deal, despite her faults. Paige felt inferior, almost unworthy to be Prue's sister, unworthy to take her place in the Power of Three, and unworthy to share Prue's sisters. Paige blinked. Where had that thought come from? Paige was feeling pretty inferior to Prue, but she'd never felt unworthy to share Prue's sisters. That was wrong, she wasn't feeling **that **inferior to Prue. Paige got up. "Sorry, but I've got to go talk to Leo. Where is he?" Paige asked.

Phoebe looked at Paige, concerned. "What's wrong, Paige?" she asked.

"It's nothing, just something I need Leo's help with. Whitelighter to half Whitelighter," Paige replied.

"Uh oh. Last time you said that, we all wound up three inches tall," Piper said.

"No, not like that. I just really need to talk to him," Paige said.

"Well, he's with the Elders right now," Piper replied.

"Why?" Phoebe asked.

"To ask why I fell through the floor earlier," Piper replied, completely calm.

"You fell through the floor?" Phoebe asked, very concerned.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm fine," Piper replied, shoving aside any questioning.

It didn't work. "Piper, this could be really bad! The virus could be messing with more than just your powers, it could be messing up your entire body!" Phoebe said.

"Relax," Piper said. "Jerome cast a spell to nullify any powers in this room, and I haven't fallen through anything in this room. So, obviously whatever happened isn't my body phasing through stuff."

Leo chose that moment to Orb back into the manor, right outside Piper's door. He walked into Piper's room, looked at Paige and Phoebe, and turned back to Piper, a questioning look on his face. "Go ahead, they know I fell through the floor," Piper said.

"The Elders said that this is a natural power progression. You gained the power of phasing, or the power to spread out your molecules so you can pass through solid objects," Leo said.

Piper snorted. "And why did the Elders decide to give me this power now, while I'm sick?"

"They didn't. The Elders no longer control how and when your powers grow and develop. They learned that when Paige developed her elemental projection power," Leo said.

"Then who's controlling them now?" Phoebe asked.

"They don't know. They think either a higher power took over or you're developing them yourselves," Leo replied.

"Wait, what higher power?" Paige asked.

"The only higher power that the Elders think would or could have taken control of your power upgrades are the Angels of Destiny. But attempts at contact with the Angels have been ignored," Leo replied.

"What about the Defenders?" Paige asked.

"Jerome's people?" Leo asked. "Why would they do that?"

"Maybe it has something to do with the dream I had earlier," Phoebe said. After receiving a look of question from everyone in the room, Phoebe explained her dream to them.

"I've never heard anything about the monster you described. I can go check with the Elders, but if I really doubt that it was anything more than a fevered dream," Leo said.

"Please, go check with the Elders, just in case," Phoebe said. Leo Orbed to ask the Elders.

"Should we ask Jerome?" Paige asked.

"Nah, let him do whatever he's doing," Piper said.

"Actually I think we should ask him. If his people hijacked out powers, then we need to know why," Phoebe said. Piper relented and agreed to ask Jerome.

Paige called Jerome into Piper's room. "Yes?" Jerome asked.

"Have your people taken control of our powers?" Phoebe asked.

"What do you mean by that?" Jerome asked.

"Our powers are advancing without the Elders," Piper explained. "They think a higher power took over."

"If my people have anything to do with this, they have neglected to tell me," Jerome replied.

Leo came back and said "The Elders know nothing of your dream, Phoebe. They've never seen or heard anything like the monster you described. Now, I have something I need to tell you-" Leo noticed Jerome. "What is he doing in here with you?" Leo shouted, clearly distraught.

"He was telling us that he knows nothing about what's happened to our power advancements," Paige replied. "Why?"

"Because he killed Prue!" Leo shouted.

Everyone gasped and looked at Jerome, who asked "Who gave you that idea?"

"The Elders heard it from an Angel of Destiny," Leo said, accusingly.

Jerome quietly cursed those blasted Angels for interfering. "Jerome, is this true?" Paige asked softly.

Jerome looked around at everyone. "Yes, it is," he admitted.

Author's Note:

Cliffhanger ending! So, what do you guys think of Piper's new power? And all the other stuff I've included in this chapter? Please, leave a review letting me know what you think and what you want to see in future chapters. And if anyone didn't like something, let me know so I can fix it. I get worried when there's a lack of reviews. I worry that I've done something drastic and no one likes the changes I've made. If this is the case, tell me so I can start the salvage process to get this story back to where it was before.


	31. Chapter 31

I don't think I can justify leaving a cliffhanger and not uploading another chapter relatively soon after, so here it is.

Chapter 31:

Everyone stared at Jerome. Paige was shocked, Phoebe and Piper were mad, and Leo was wondering how long he should wait before kicking Jerome out himself. "You did what?" Piper yelled after a while.

"I killed your older sister, Prue Halliwell," Jerome said.

"Get out, get out now!" Piper screamed.

"No, wait! Let's here what he has to say for himself first," Paige said. She didn't think he would kill Prue without a perfectly good reason. Maybe she was becoming too powerful, and that was throwing the Grand Design off balance or something. Paige didn't know, but she refused to assume that Jerome was a murderer.

"Why? All that matters is that he killed my sister!" Piper shouted.

"No, I want to hear him explain himself. I want to hear him beg and plead for our forgiveness," Phoebe said, uncharacteristically cruelly.

"I'm not going to plead or beg for forgiveness." Jerome turned and directed his words to Piper. "I killed Prue because I needed the Power of Three. The only power that my people lack is the Power of Three. Two of my friends and I were planning on taking the power from you after it was broken. However, after Paige was united with you and Phoebe the Power of Three was given to you once more. The power seems very fond of the Warren line. We were going to use that power to overthrow the Council and protect the Grand Design in a far more effective way.

"However, before we got the chance to try again, the Council learned of my interference. They stripped me of my powers, as you know, under the charge of throwing the Grand Design off balance. The Grand Design is completely dependent on balance. Evil to balance good, dark to balance light, and death to balance life. The Charmed Ones were and are essential to that balance. Otherwise, evil would gain the upper hand and destroy all the good, unbalancing the Grand Design and causing horrible repercussions. Paige, you were brought into the Charmed Ones to restore the balance.

"Unfortunately, since the Charmed Ones had been around for a few years, evil was intent on destroying the Power of Three. After Prue's death, the Source didn't decide to send weaker demons so you three can build a sisterly bond. He sent stronger demons to destroy you. The Power of Three is only as powerful as your bond as sisters. The bond with Prue was incredibly strong, so the Power of Three was strong. Your bond as sisters now is not nearly as strong as it was before, which weakens the Power of Three. I was sent here to protect you and help you until your bond as sisters strengthens to the point where it was before, with Prue." Jerome finished his lengthy monologue.

"All that matters is that you killed Prue! And you did it for selfish reasons, not for the Greater Good or the Grand Design!" Piper yelled.

"I thought Shax killed Prue," Paige said.

Jerome snorted. "Yeah, right. The blast Shax used to send Prue and Piper into the wall wasn't powerful enough to kill either of you. Both of you would have been fine had I not interfered."

"What did you do to Prue?" Phoebe screamed, finally coming to terms with what happened.

"While she and Piper were unconscious, I caused several veins in her skull to burst. The blood flooded her head, and killed her. I thought it made it look like it was Shax, and evidently it worked on you, just not the Council," Jerome replied.

"Did she feel it?" Leo asked.

"What?" Jerome asked.

"Did she feel it? The veins bursting, her head flooding, dying!" Leo asked, nearly shouting.

"I don't know. If she completely unconscious, she shouldn't have. But if she was somewhat conscious, she would have," Jerome replied.

"I have one more question before we kick you out of here, for good!" Piper said. Jerome looked at Piper and she asked "Why haven't you killed us yet, if you want the Power of Three? Do you just need to get your powers back and then we're next, or what?"

"At first, I thought that I needed to regain my powers, that if I killed you and took the Power of Three it wouldn't be enough to restore me to full strength. However, I recently learned that I was wrong," Jerome paused and turned to Phoebe, who had a question forming on her lips. Before she could ask it, however, Jerome said "I learned this through some of the research I've done since I was sent here."

"Then why not kill us now and take the Power of Three?" Phoebe asked, still furious.

Jerome thought for a moment. Why hadn't he? For starters, Paul was no longer his ally. But, there was something deeper. Jerome was almost, fond of the sisters. He had almost grown somewhat fond of Piper, Leo, Cole, and even Phoebe, to a small extent. Paige, however, Jerome had actually grown fond of. He, very, very deep down inside, was beginning to like Paige. "My allies are no longer on my side, so I don't have three people to claim the Power of Three," Jerome finally said. He had decided to withhold the information about his small feelings towards the sisters.

"Great, so we get to live because you don't have the number needed to properly house the Power of Three? Get out!" Piper screamed.

Jerome agreed, turned around, and almost left when Paige said "Wait!"

Jerome stopped in the doorway and cocked his head to the side. "How are you able to stay so calm while telling us all this?" Paige asked.

Jerome, in truth, was far from calm. Well, far from calm for his standards. He was afraid that that moment was going to happen, and when it did, he nearly panicked. The reason he was able to stay as calm as he was was because he knew, better than anyone, how to mask and cover emotions and feelings. Jerome, in response to Paige's question, merely shrugged and left through the doorway. Once he was out of Piper's room, he Flashed to some mysterious location.

Amenti was watching the whole ordeal from within his lair. Amenti still didn't know what Jerome was, but he knew that Jerome was no longer under the protection of the Charmed Ones, and that they were no longer under his. Amenti, however, was far too curious to find out what Jerome was to just let him leave. Amenti was going to continue with his plan to capture Jerome and force Jerome to consume the nasty mixture of the Love Serum and Love's Draught. And now, Amenti had the perfect opportunity to do so.

Author's Note:

Jerome's big secret is finally exposed to the sisters! And they kick him out! Wonderful. Jerome is now going to be forced to wander around, homeless and alone. So, please leave me a review telling me if you liked this chapter, what you liked about it, and anything else that you think might belong in a review.


	32. Chapter 32

I'm thinking the sisters have been sick long enough, so unless someone specifically wants me to write something in about the sisters being sick and leaves it in either the form of a review or a PM, this will be the last chapter that the sisters will be sick.

Chapter 32:

Jerome was wandering the world. At the time he was wandering through an ancient Aztec ruin, searching. For what, not even he knew. All he knew was that there was something in the ruins, something magical, and something powerful. Jerome was hoping that it would help him with his powers. Whatever it was, the artifact had power. If Jerome could use it to get a power back, he'd be better off. Helping the sisters and convincing the Elders to help him was no longer an option, for obvious reasons.

Jerome turned a corner and saw a large, ornate door. The pictures and symbols that decorated the door were all an ancient code. Jerome knew how to interpret them. The symbols said that the only way to pass was to mix a rare, unique potion that contained ridiculous ingredients, several of which were no longer possible to obtain. Jerome decided to telekinetically force the door open instead. He sent a blast of telekinetic energy at it. The door collapsed and left a gaping hole for Jerome to walk through. Jerome walked into the next room and kept going deeper into the ruin.

Jerome had time to think as he walked. Why had the Angel of Destiny told the Elders what he had done to Prue? Was it the old Angels of Destiny grudge against the Defenders or was there another reason? If it hadn't been for that Angel, Jerome wouldn't have to search out this magical artifact. He could continue helping the sisters and gain both their and the Elders' trust, earning his powers back and having them restored properly. Now, he was forced to search out unknown artifacts and hope that they would give him the powers he sought.

Jerome came to another door, this one required a spell to open. "By the power of the earth, moon, an fire, by the might of my desire, through the everlasting pyre, release the seal and leave no ire," Jerome chanted. The door opened, letting Jerome pass through. He walked deeper into the ruin, seeing symbols along the wall, hinting to the artifact that was hidden within. From what Jerome could see, the artifact would be quite useful to him.

Jerome continued thinking. Why did he care so much that he was kicked out of the manor? Granted, after the sisters found out about what he did to Prue, he expected nothing less. He was actually surprised they didn't try to vanquish him. Jerome had no idea why his being kicked out was affecting him as much as it was. He never cared about that kind of thing before, why now? What was different now? Was it the friendship offered to him by the sisters? No, Phoebe made it clear she never liked nor trusted him. Piper seemed to be with Phoebe about Jerome, though to a much lesser degree. Paige was the only one that seemed to even remotely like and trust him. Was her friendship why he cared now?

Jerome came to the last door, which was simply a door. He merely pushed it open, and it yielded to his touch. Inside the final room was a single band. The band was made of a very plain tin. Its true value, however, lied in its power. The small band gave its bearer the power of astral projection. Jerome picked up the band and put in on his wrist. It fit like a watch. Jerome tested this power. He projected an astral clone three feet in front of him. Jerome, unlike Prue had and Paige did, remained fully conscious. His consciousness felt like I was split into two beings, but he had no issue with it. He used to be able to project up to three copies, making a total of four copies of himself. Jerome could only make two with the band. The band didn't offer enough power to fully utilize it the way Jerome used to be able to, but he was still far more proficient than most with the power of astral projection.

Jerome decided to test it in elemental form. He used to be able to inhabit up to five different elements, and still remain in control of his body. With the band he could only manage three. However, the band did give him the power of elemental astral projection. Jerome hadn't been entirely sure that it would. Jerome also was able to control the elements he was inhabiting, to an extent. He could manipulate them enough to move them around, though some moved better than others. Water, fire, and air moved easily. Earth didn't move very much, and electricity could only move in bursts. Jerome tried using some of his other powers while in elemental form. He couldn't teleport unless he used the elemental form of teleportation associated with the element he was inhabiting. When he used normal astral projection he had complete control of all his other powers, or rather the ones that weren't blocked off. None of Jerome's astral forms could access his blocked off powers. Jerome figured it was due to the massive amount of energy those powers consumed. The astral forms couldn't burn that much energy since they didn't have that much.

Jerome Flickered back to the cave in the Rocky Mountains he was staying in. He had all the time in the world, and nothing to do with it. He had no way of regaining his powers, no plans or purpose, nor did he have anyone. He was an outcast amongst his own people, and an enemy in the eyes of the Charmed Ones. He was alone.

* * *

Piper was laying on the floor, downstairs. She fell through the floor on her way to the bathroom, again. She was getting really sick of falling through the floor while she was trying to use the bathroom. "Leo!" she shouted.

Leo Orbed to Piper. "Piper, what happened?" Leo asked.

"What does it look like happened? I fell through the floor again!" Piper snapped.

"Why'd you leave your room?" Leo asked.

"I had to go to the bathroom, Leo. Sick people do that," Piper said.

"Why didn't you call Paige to help you?" Leo asked.

"I didn't think I'd need my baby sister to walk me down the hall so I could use the bathroom," Piper snapped back. "Could you please just Orb me to the bathroom and then back to my room?"

Leo agreed and took Piper to the bathroom then back to her bedroom. "Next time, just call Paige, please," Leo said.

"Alright, fine. By the way, where is she?" Piper asked.

"I don't know. I haven't seen her since we got rid of Jerome," Leo said. Leo and Piper looked at each other and both started yelling for Paige.

"Paige!" Piper yelled.

"Paige!" Leo shouted.

There was no reply. Phoebe came into Piper's room and asked "What's wrong?"

"Have you seen Paige?" Leo asked.

"Not since we kicked Jerome out," Phoebe replied. "Why?"

"Neither have we," Leo replied.

"Maybe she's at the store?" Phoebe weakly offered.

"Without telling us? I don't think so. Leo, can you sense her?" Piper asked.

"I think so," Leo said. He closed his eyes and started searching for Paige with his mind.

Leo suddenly opened his eyes and said "She's at the bay."

"What is she doing there?" Piper asked.

"I don't know. I'll go get her," Leo said. Leo Orbed to the bay.

Piper tried to stop him and yelled "No, wait! Take me, too!"

"Piper, I don't think either of us should go in this condition," Phoebe said.

Piper calmed down and agreed.

* * *

Paige was standing on a boardwalk, looking at the ocean. She was thinking, and had been there for the last hour, since Jerome was kicked out. Why did they have to be so hard on him? It was horrible that he killed Prue, but what about all the times he'd saved their lives? All the times he'd helped them out? All the good he'd done since killing Prue? Didn't any of that count for anything? Was Prue really that amazing, so amazing that nothing Jerome ever does, no matter how good, will ever be enough to compensate for her death? What if Paige was the one who was killed? Would Piper and Phoebe feel the same way then? Paige heard the sound of Orbs behind her. She turned around and saw Leo, watching her. "Leo," Paige said, barely more than a whisper.

"Paige, you wanted to talk to me, didn't you?" Leo asked, remembering their earlier conversation.

"Yeah. Why do Piper and Phoebe hate me so much?" Paige asked.

"Is that really what you think?" Leo asked. Paige nodded.

"That's a lie. You're their sister, hey love you. They love you unconditionally. They lost their sister and were told that you were supposed to be her replacement in the Power of Three. Naturally that's going to leave some resentment, but they'll get over it. They'll move on from Prue. Trust me, I know them. They do love you, and they don't want you gone," Leo said.

Paige believed him. Leo was so sincere it was impossible not to. Paige thanked him. Leo nodded and said they needed to get back. Paige got into her car and drove back to the manor while Leo Orbed back.

* * *

"Curse that blasted Whitelighter! I can't turn Paige against her sisters if he tells her that and shows her that amount of love!" Amenti screamed. "That's it. Steve!"

Steve Shimmered into Amenti's lair and knelt in front of him. "Yes, master?" Steve asked.

"If that Whitelighter is using love to combat what I'm doing, then I'm going to increase it a thousand fold!" Amenti said. "Prepare the Love Tonic!"

Steve was confused. "What's the Tonic?" he asked.

Amenti sighed. "It's a potion from the Love Pool. It turns the love of the one who drinks it into a monstrous golem that attacks loveless couples. The Charmed Ones bond is dependent on their love for each other as sisters, and by mixing the Tonic with the right ingredients from the Pool you can make a potion that causes the mutual love the sisters have for each other become one of those golems. And as their bond strengthens, so too will the golem's strength and might," Amenti explained.

"Won't they just vanquish it?" Steve asked.

"Their power, the Power of Three, is also dependent on their bond for strength. The closer the sisters are, the greater the Power of Three. And the more powerful the golem becomes," Amenti said.

Steve nodded his understanding and prepared to make the Tonic. "How do I make the Tonic?" Steve asked.

Amenti sighed. "Never mind, I'll do it myself. You go and find the sword master demon and a shape-shifter or two and bring me Jerome. I don't care how you do it, just bring him to me," Amenti said. Steve bowed and Shimmered to some part of the Underworld to hunt down the demons. Amenti began brewing his Love Tonic. "Now the sisters will feel the true power of love!" Amenti growled as he brewed.

Author's Note:

This chapter took a while to write, and I'm not entirely sure it's as good as it should be. Like I said before, the sisters are gone being sick after this chapter unless someone really wants to see some kind of sickness thing. If anyone wants something else from the sisters being sick, let me know and I'll write it in the next chapter. Otherwise, they're going to be healthy again. And if anyone wants to leave a review about anything else, anything at all, please feel free to do so.


	33. Chapter 33

No one wanted the sisters to stay sick (or at least, no one told me they did), so they will no longer be sick. Which is good, since the plot is pretty slow when someone is sick.

Chapter 33:

Several days had passed since the Charmed Ones had kicked Jerome out. He was living in a cave, eating whatever he could catch. Luckily, Jerome was immune to disease and illness, so the fact that a large amount of the meat he ate was raw and that most of the plants were poisonous meant nothing. It was enough to sustain him, and that was all that mattered. Jerome thought about getting food from a store and living amongst people, but he had no money, no ID, no birth certificate, nothing. He couldn't live amongst people simply because he had no way of getting a job or any way of purchasing property. His only choices were to live in a box on the side of the street or to live in a cave, away from people. Jerome always had been a loner, and was used to being on his own.

However, this was different. Jerome had no idea why, but being alone felt different. Almost, lonely. He actually felt some desire to see someone else. Jerome had lived alone for several thousand years before with absolutely no loneliness or desire for another being. Yet now, after only a few days alone, he wanted someone with him.

Jerome heard a crack from outside his cave. He drew his sword and cautiously, silently approached the cave entrance. A demon stepped in front of the cave, drew his sword, and pointed it at Jerome. The demon was tall, muscular, scaly, and had green skin with glowing yellow eyes. The sword seemed to be made out of the demon's skin. It was long, about three and a half feet long, and looked very sharp, with a straight cross guard. The demon spoke to Jerome, and said "I am the master swordsman in both the above and the Underworld!"

"Great. So, why are you here?" Jerome asked. He may have felt the slightest twinge of loneliness, but he certainly didn't want a demon as company.

"I heard a rumor that you are a great master of the blade! I want to challenge you and prove myself the ultimate master!" the demon yelled.

Jerome sighed. This demon was obnoxious. He took a ready stance and lunged at Jerome. Jerome blocked the sword at the last second, faster than any man or demon was capable of moving. Jerome and the demon exchanged a few sword strikes, until Jerome knocked the demon's sword out of his hands. Jerome raised his sword to the demon's throat and said "You're supposed to be a master?"

The demon summoned his sword to his hand and thrust it into Jerome's chest. Jerome staggered back. "Yes, I am," the demon said with a malicious grin.

Jerome grabbed the sword and pulled it out of his chest. The wound healed. Jerome took the demon's sword and thrust it through his gut. The demon screamed in pain, a look of pure shock on his face. He exploded in a cloud of fire. Jerome turned around and saw Paige. "Jerome, I found you!" Paige yelled.

Jerome froze. "Why are you here?" Jerome eventually asked.

"I'm here to take you back. Grab my hand; let me take you back," Paige said. Jerome had a very hard time believing this was Paige. For starters, Paige didn't talk or act like that. Secondly, Paige couldn't Orb anywhere other than in place yet. She had no way of getting there. And lastly, Jerome would have easily heard the sound of Orbing if anyone had Orbed behind him. He heard nothing.

"What powers do I have access to?" Jerome asked.

Paige quickly answered. "Astral Projection and a bunch of teleporting ones," she replied.

Jerome knew that there was no way Paige could know about his astral projection. He also knew that she knew he had telekinesis and all forms of teleportation, not just a bunch. This wasn't Paige, likely a shape-shifter disguised as her. "So, why don't you just show me your true form and let me fight you, shape-shifter?" Jerome asked.

Paige frowned. "What are you talking about? It's me, Paige," "she" said.

Jerome sighed and telekinetically threw her against a back wall. "I know better than that," Jerome said.

"Paige" snarled and changed into a small man with a stocky build and a ridiculous mustache. The man threw a fireball at Jerome. Jerome let it hit his arm, which was destroyed. He then clenched his teeth as his arm painfully reformed itself. The man looked at Jerome surprised. Jerome decided to use a little more of his strength and telekinetically forced the man through the cave floor. The floor was made of solid obsidian. Jerome's power was great enough to force him several miles into the stone. Jerome Flickered outside of the cave and forced it to collapse. The cave and all the stone around it cracked and shattered. The rubble and debris were all forced through the rock floor of the former cave. The floor also collapsed on itself. There was a giant hole left over once Jerome was done. And there was absolutely no chance that the demon survived.

Jerome turned around and saw a large stick in his face. The stick hit, and knocked Jerome out cold. Steve threw the stick to the side, grabbed Jerome, and Shimmered to Amenti's lair.

* * *

Amenti turned to the spot he knew Steve would Shimmer to. Steve did, and had Jerome. "Here he is, master," Steve said.

"Excellent. Why don't we give him a nice place to stay," Amenti said. Amenti waved his hand at Jerome, who flew back against the wall. Amenti snapped his fingers and chains came from the wall, chaining Jerome against the wall, next to Amenti's captured cupid, Coop.

"Steve, take the Tonic to the Charmed Ones and spike their drinks with it. Only the Charmed Ones; I need the others to be unaffected. I'll give Jerome the mixture of the Serum and the Draught. Go!" Amenti said.

Steve jumped, grabbed the Tonic, and Shimmered to the manor, where he would hopefully find a way to get the Tonic into the Charmed Ones.

* * *

At the moment, the Charmed Ones were all happy and finally healthy. Piper and Phoebe felt like they had fully recovered. Phoebe didn't have any headaches, nausea, or anything at all to make her think she was sick. Piper felt completely fine, too. "Wait!" Phoebe said, right before Piper stepped outside.

"What?" Piper asked.

"We should make absolutely certain that demon virus is gone," Phoebe said.

"How?" Paige asked.

"Piper, come here," Phoebe said.

Piper rolled her eyes, but walked over to Phoebe anyway. Phoebe looked around, found a feather duster, and started tickling Piper's nose with it. Piper quickly shoved it away and asked "What are you doing?"

"I'm checking to see if anything blows up when you sneeze," Phoebe replied.

Piper snatched the feather duster from Phoebe and stuck it in Phoebe's face. Phoebe's breathing hitched and she sneezed. She stayed on the ground. "There, we're not sick," Piper said.

Phoebe sniffed a couple of times and replied "We only proved that I'm not sick anymore. We haven't checked you yet." Before Piper could say anything Phoebe snatched the feather duster from her and stuck it in her face. Piper sneezed, and nothing blew up.

"There, now we know you're not sick anymore," Phoebe said with a smirk. Piper glared at her. Paige laughed at her sisters' antics.

Piper turned to look at Paige. "Hey, Pheebs, you forgot a sister," she said with a wicked smirk.

Phoebe turned to Paige and ran towards her, brandishing the feather duster as a weapon. Paige ran, but Piper ran past her and grabbed her. Piper turned Paige towards Phoebe and kept her from running. Phoebe stuck the feather duster in Paige's face, causing her to sneeze. She and Piper Orbed. "Whoa," Piper said as she released Paige and backed up, somewhat dazed.

"You okay, Piper?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah, Orbing without warning is a bit disorienting, but I'm fine," Piper replied.

Paige sniffed. "Sorry," she said.

"Wasn't your fault," Piper said, regaining her balance and orientation. "I forgot you Orb when you sneeze."

Leo came down the stairs at that moment and asked "Is Paige sick again?"

The sisters laughed at the concerned expression on Leo's face and the tone in his voice. "No, everyone's healthy. We were playing with the feather duster," Paige answered with a smile. She was happy. Jerome may have been gone, but she was closer to her sisters than ever before. That silly little feather duster thing just showed that they loved each other enough to play like children with each other. It reminded Paige that her sisters loved her.

* * *

Steve was in the manor. He saw a jug of lemonade sitting on the counter. He also saw three glasses near it. Steve dumped some of the Tonic in the three glasses, hoping that the sisters would drink from them. Steve heard someone coming into the kitchen. He hid and cloaked himself. Steve had the power to blend into his backgrounds if he held still. Piper came into the kitchen, grabbed the three glasses, and poured some lemonade in them. She brought them on a tray into the living room. Steve uncloaked and stealthily followed her. Piper brought the glasses to her sisters and all of them drank from them.

Steve Shimmered back to Amenti. "Master," he said, "I have they have taken the Tonic. How long before it takes effect?"

"A few hours. The golem will form in the manor, where they're their strongest, and from there will hunt them down," Amenti said. "Until then, I'm going to feast." Amenti gave a vicious grin and Flamed away. Jerome groaned behind Steve, causing him to jump. Jerome was still unconscious. Steve Shimmered off to some other part of the Underworld. He didn't want to be there when Jerome woke up.

Author's Note:

So, how did you like this chapter? The plot is moving forward, so hopefully it picks up and gets more interesting than the last few chapters have been. Please, feel free to leave a review telling me if you liked the chapter or the didn't like the chapter, and whatever you think would be good in this story.


	34. Chapter 34

Happy Valentine's Day! As a nice present, here's a chapter that not only is set before, but has little to do with the holiday!

Chapter 34:

Jerome woke up in a dark cave. He saw an obsidian pool filled with strange liquids that gave off an ethereal glow in the center of the cavern. Jerome looked up at his hands. They were chained with golden chains. His feet, likewise, were restrained. He felt... different. He wasn't sure what, but he felt that something was off about him. He wasn't injured, other than a headache from where the stick hit him, and he had no idea what else could be wrong. He thought maybe he was drugged or something, but he felt no mental inhibition. He was more than able to use his powers; he astral projected easily and was able to get a better look around. Jerome heard someone coming, so he quickly ditched the astral clone.

Jerome saw a man with a goatee and a small mustache walk into the cavern. Jerome recognized this man; he was the demon Amenti, the Love Eater. This confused Jerome. He was almost certain that the sisters had vanquished Amenti. He saw it happen. There was no way Amenti would have had enough time to gather enough strength to return from the Wasteland. Amenti chuckled at Jerome's confused expression. "So, I take it you recognize me," Amenti said.

"How are you alive?" Jerome asked.

Amenti chuckled darkly. "I cannot be so easily defeated. Another took the fall while I survived," he replied.

"Phoebe wrote that spell specifically for you. Even if you weren't the one the sisters trapped, the spell should have destroyed you if you were in the room," Jerome said.

"Who said I was in the room?" Amenti asked.

Jerome's temper flared. Of course he was in the room! No other demon could have possibly exhibited the amount of raw power that Amenti had shown. Jerome stopped himself before he said anything. Why was he so angry? Jerome never felt that amount of raw emotion before. Jerome calmed himself down, and said "You were there. No other demon has the power that you showed. Whether a shape-shifter stood in place for you or not, you were definitely there to keep up the illusion," Jerome said.

Amenti raised an eyebrow. "Wow, you're pretty smart, aren't you? Yes, I was there. And I used this," Amenti held up his right hand and showed Jerome the Cupid Ring, "to redirect the focus of the spell on the shape-shifter. I still live, and I'm still after the Charmed Ones."

"They'll stop you," Jerome said. "Belthazor couldn't kill them, Tempus couldn't kill them, not even Shax could kill them." Jerome thought about his crime when he mentioned Shax. Shax hadn't killed Prue, he wasn't powerful enough. Jerome, however, was.

And, as if reading Jerome's thoughts, Amenti said "But you do."

"I would never harm the sisters. Not again," Jerome said. He was surprised at how much emotion he felt when saying that.

Amenti grinned, as if he expected the answer. "No, you're right. You wouldn't, and won't. I'm not strong enough to force you to, and you would never do so willingly," Amenti said. "However, I'm more powerful than any of the demons who have tried so far. And I'm considerably smarter than any of them, too. I already have my plan set in motion, and there's nothing you can do to stop it."

Jerome snarled. "You're wrong. I can, and will, stop you. Either myself or the sisters. You have no chance, Love Eater," Jerome said.

"We'll see. Enjoy your stay," Amenti said. Amenti Flamed somewhere, though Jerome didn't know where. Jerome stayed, chained where he was, waiting for the right time.

* * *

Piper was at P3, planning for that night's event. She was going to try something new, since Valentine's Day was coming up soon. Piper was hosting a speed dating service, for all the lonely people who wanted to spend the holiday with someone special. She had several of her friends, and a very reluctant Paige, there as people to meet. She had enough tables set up and enough food (which the people had to pay for, since everyone was allowed free entry), but she needed timers. She didn't notice that Amenti had Flamed into the club behind her, or saw him cloak himself and hide. Amenti could have attacked her then and there, but was worried that she would somehow survive and he would end up the loser. Amenti had learned long ago that direct assaults on the Charmed Ones did not work.

* * *

Phoebe and Cole were in the park, enjoying Phoebe's freedom. Before, when Phoebe first coughed and levitated, they hadn't had the chance to enjoy the picnic Phoebe had prepared. Piper had made a big deal of saying that there was nothing edible in the basket since Phoebe had made it, but Cole didn't mind. As long as he was with Phoebe, he was happy. Besides, he was the mighty Belthazor. He could handle some poorly made sandwiches.

* * *

Paige had called Mr. Cowan and told him that her sisters were all perfectly healthy and that she could go in to work that day. Mr. Cowan told her that she didn't need to since he had hired a temporary replacement for the day, since she had fallen so far behind due to her sisters being sick. He told her to take that day off, and to be ready to work herself to the breaking point the next day. Paige had agreed and was hanging out at the manor. She was sitting on the couch, watching TV. The fireplace was roaring with a flame, which warmed the entire room. She was trying to project herself into the fire. She wasn't having much luck. All she managed to do was give herself a headache.

Paige heard a noise coming from behind her. She quickly turned around and saw a swirling mist. The mist was...pink? "What the?" Paige asked to herself. The pink mist swirled into a tower and solidified into a large monster. The monster was, like the mist, pink. It had glowing white eyes and massive arms with fists the size of boulders. The creature's head touched the ceiling and it looked very strong. The creature looked at her, roared, and lunged at Paige. Paige, in her fear, Orbed. The monster fell to the ground. Paige reappeared and called for Leo.

Leo Orbed behind Paige, saw the creature on the floor, grabbed Paige, and Orbed to P3. Paige and Leo appeared in P3, in the back room where no one could see them. "What was that thing?" Paige asked Leo.

Leo looked at Paige and replied "I have no idea." Leo left to get Piper and the three of them went to find Phoebe. She was eating lunch with Cole in the park, who was not, in fact, able to handle eating Phoebe's poorly made sandwiches. He took one bite, nearly gagged, and decided to be romantic and distract Phoebe. When Piper, Leo, and Paige Orbed to them, they were kissing.

"Hey, we have a serious problem!" Piper yelled to get Phoebe's attention. She and Cole stopped kissing suddenly and looked at Piper, surprise on their faces.

"What is it?" Phoebe asked.

Piper turned to Paige, who said "A large pink monster that looks like it could crush a car with one of its fists."

Phoebe started giggling. Piper glared at her. "What?" Phoebe asked innocently. "It's a pink monster, how is that not funny?"

Piper sighed. She turned to Cole and asked "Have you ever heard of anything like that?"

Cole shook his head. "I've never heard of pink monsters. Though it's probably some kind of golem," he said.

"A what?" Paige asked.

"A golem," Leo said. "Magical creatures created out of any material and animated by magic. Their powers range from none to however many their creator has."

"What material is pink?" Phoebe asked.

"Rose quartz, maybe?" Piper suggested.

"That doesn't matter. Golems are only as strong as their creator lets them be, regardless of the material. A Power of Three spell should work on it," Cole said.

The three sisters sat down and started working on a spell to vanquish the golem. "What about its creator? How will you find him if you vanquish the golem?" Leo asked.

"Cole, would the golem leave any pieces behind?" Piper asked.

"Probably," Cole replied.

"Then we'll use some golem shards and scry for him," Piper said. After a couple of hours, the sisters had a vanquishing spell written. Leo and Cole Orbed and Shimmered, respectively, the sisters and themselves to the manor. The pink golem was patrolling the house, and was conveniently in the living room at the time, the same place the group Orbed into.

The golem looked at them and ran towards them. Cole threw an energy ball at the golem. Some pieces of its body chipped off, but it kept going, this time towards Cole. "Say the spell!" Cole shouted.

Phoebe pulled the piece of paper the sisters had written the spell on out of her pocket. She unrolled it and the sisters began reading "Inanimate object come to life, we use this power to end the strife. Go away, leave our sight, and be destroyed by all our might!" The golem began to glow, started cracking, shooting out shards from its body, and stopped. The glowing ceased, and the golem was repaired. It began moving towards the sisters. Piper tried to blow it up, but all that did was chip it. The golem ran straight for Piper. She flinched, and the golem went straight through her. Leo and Cole grabbed the sisters and Orbed and Shimmered out of the manor as quickly as they could.

Author's Note:

And that is the Valentine's Day chapter! Please leave a review telling me what you liked and didn't like, any suggestions, or whatever else you feel like saying. I'm happy to hear from anyone who reads this story. Here, since this is, more or less, a Valentine's Day gift (sort of), you can leave a review as a Valentine's Day gift in return, or something like that.

And to the mysterious guest who asked what OoC means, it means out of character. Sorry, I probably should define acronyms before I use them. My bad.


	35. Chapter 35

Here's the next chapter in the "Love Eater Saga." The fact that I named it goes to show you that I've had too much free time. And that I think too much. Yeah... here you go.

Chapter 35:

Cole and Leo, through some unspoken agreement, took the sisters to P3. Luckily no one was in the club. "What happened? Why didn't the spell work?" Piper asked.

"I don't know," Leo said.

"Neither do I. No golem should be able to survive a Power of Three spell. Most, if not all, demons shouldn't be able to survive a Power of Three spell," Cole said.

"So, what? That wasn't a golem?" Phoebe asked.

"No, that was definitely a golem," Cole said.

"If we vanquish the creator of the golem, would the golem disappear?" Paige asked.

"Yes, if you could find him," Cole replied.

"So, why don't we use some of the golem's shards and scry for the creator?" Paige asked.

"Well, the crystal would point to the golem, not the creator," Piper said.

"Unless you used blood with the shard," Cole said.

"What?" Piper asked.

"Blood. Unless the creator is another golem, which is very unlikely, using blood will focus the scrying on living creatures. The golem would be ignored," Cole said.

"You want us to bleed on the shard?" Paige asked.

"Actually, that might work," Piper said. "Phoebe, want to bleed on a shard of golem?"

"Why me?" Phoebe asked.

"Why not you?" Piper asked.

Phoebe agreed, albeit reluctantly. "Great, now all we need is a shard, a crystal, and a map," Piper said.

"I'll go get the map and crystal," Leo said. "Paige, try to call for a shard." Leo Orbed to the manor to get the map and crystal.

"Wait, what?" Paige asked.

"Paige, calm down. You can do this. Just picture a shard of the pink stuff the golem was made of, and call for it," Piper said. Paige nodded and closed her eyes. After a few seconds she held out her hand and called for a shard. Nothing happened.

"Keep trying," Phoebe said.

Paige focused and tried again. Nothing happened. She frowned and tried a third time, yelling "Shard!"

A shard appeared in her hand with a flurry of Orbs. Paige smiled. "I did it!" she said.

"Good job, Paige. I knew you could do it," Phoebe said. Leo Orbed back with the map and crystal.

Piper grabbed a knife from the bar counter and held it out to Phoebe. "Ready?" she asked.

Phoebe grabbed the knife, cut herself, and let her blood drip onto the golem shard. When enough blood was on the shard, she held her hand out to Leo. He healed her cut, and Phoebe started scrying. After a few minutes the crystal dropped onto the location for P3.

"What? There are no demons here," Piper said.

"I know, we're the only ones here. Did we just scry for ourselves?" Phoebe asked. "We did use my blood, after all."

"No, the blood and the shard should have pointed to the golem's creator," Cole said.

"So one of us created the golem?" Paige asked.

"Maybe not intentionally. In fact, I really doubt it was intentional. Perhaps a warlock cast a spell to turn something from one of us into a golem," Cole said.

"Great. So, if one of us made the golem, how do we vanquish it?" Phoebe asked.

* * *

Amenti had returned to his lair. He was watching the Charmed Ones discuss his golem. "Well, I have to give them credit. They're smarter than I thought," Amenti said to himself.

Jerome was still hanging on the wall. He had tried several times to use his powers, but something was blocking them. Jerome figured it was the chains that held him. He couldn't Orb of astral project. He hadn't tried using telekinesis. Jerome focused his power and tried to throw Amenti into a wall. Amenti didn't move. He laughed instead. "As long as I have this ring I'm immune to your powers. You have no escape, and no way to hurt me," he said.

Jerome focused on moving the Love Pool. That, he was able to move. He threw that at Amenti. The Pool hit Amenti and sent him flying into a wall. Jerome used his telekinesis to start shaking the entire cavern. Walls cracked, rocks shattered, and Amenti couldn't regain his balance. The wall that held Jerome cracked, giving Jerome enough leeway to rip the chains from the wall he was stuck on. Jerome stopped shaking the cavern and used the chains to attack Amenti. Amenti threw a fireball at Jerome, causing Jerome to disintegrate.

"Ha! Even with all that power, I'm still stronger," Amenti yelled. Amenti then noticed Jerome reforming. "What? How is that possible?"

Amenti threw several more fireballs and a few energy balls at Jerome as he was reforming. Each attack reduced Jerome to ash again, but he kept regenerating. Amenti created a massive fireball and threw several energy balls into it. As he was building the attack, Jerome reformed. Amenti threw the attack at Jerome, who redirected it towards Amenti using his telekinesis. The attack hit Amenti, who exploded in a ball of fire. Amenti began reforming from the ashes around where he stood. "Agh! As long as I wear this ring, I cannot be vanquished by the likes of you!" Amenti roared. Amenti lunged at Jerome. Jerome, now free of the chains that held him, Flamed out of Amenti's lair just a split second before Amenti reached him. Amenti stopped and howled in rage.

Jerome Flamed into the attic at the manor. He had every intention of warning the sisters about Amenti, regardless of what they thought of him. It didn't take Jerome very long to realize that the sisters weren't in the manor. Unfortunately, Jerome had no idea where they were. He stopped, and focused. For some reason, Jerome was able to sense Paige. She was at P3.

Jerome Flamed to P3 and was almost immediately blown up as soon as he arrived. He quickly regenerated and turned to look at the Charmed Ones. All of them had looks of shock on their faces. Leo and Cole, too, looked shocked to see him. Their looks of shock quickly turned to anger and rage. "You have the nerve to come here after what you did?" Piper asked, nearly shouting.

"I'll bet he had something to do with the golem," Phoebe said.

"Golem, what golem?" Jerome asked.

"Don't play dumb," Phoebe said. "The pink golem that tried to kill us earlier today."

"Look, I'm not here to cause trouble, and I had nothing to do with the golem. I came to warn you," Jerome said.

"Yeah, right. You're here to warn us. Let me guess, you also warned Prue, too, right?" Piper asked.

"No, please just forget about that for a second and listen to me," Jerome pleaded. He stopped. He was pleading. Almost begging. What was wrong with him? Where was all that emotion coming from?

Paige heard the tone of desperation in his voice and said "Go on."

"Amenti is still alive. He stole a cupid ring and redirected the focus of your spell to a shape-shifter that he used as a scapegoat. He probably sent the golem after you," Jerome said.

A look of shock crossed the sisters' faces. Phoebe quickly recovered and said "And we should believe you because...?"

Jerome sighed in exasperation. "Please, just believe me. He captured me. I only just escaped. He's coming after you next. He's probably been after you since you vanquished his scapegoat," he said.

Jerome gave them one last pleading look and asked "At least keep your minds open to the possibility, please?" Jerome then Flickered out of P3.

"Can you believe him? He has the nerve to come here and pretend to help us after he killed one of us?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah, and I doubt Amenti's still alive. We wrote the spell specifically for him and him alone. He wouldn't have survived it," Piper said.

"I believe him," Paige said quietly, almost as a whisper.

"What?" Phoebe yelled.

"After all he's done, how could you believe him?" Leo asked.

"Didn't you hear the desperation in his voice and see it on his face?" Paige asked.

"Yeah, but he was probably faking," Piper said.

"Have you ever known Jerome to fake an emotion, ever?" Paige asked. "Or even show one for that matter?" she added.

"Well, no, but-" Phoebe started.

"But what?" Paige interrupted. "If he's showing that much concern then obviously we should listen to him, especially if Amenti is threatening enough to get him that worried."

"She has a point," Cole said.

Phoebe shot Cole a look. "No she doesn't, he killed Prue. Why should we believe anything he says?" she asked.

"And yet all the people I've killed, all the times I tried to kill you and your sisters, you still trust me. You love me, how is this any different?" Cole asked.

"Because you've changed! You're not that person anymore, you're not that demon anymore," Phoebe said.

"Perhaps he's changed as well. Besides, he didn't kill Prue for evil reasons, he just wanted the Power of Three so he could protect the Grand Design. So he could protect the balance of the universe," Cole said.

"And all he asked was for us to keep our minds open. What harm could come from that?" Paige asked.

"Alright! Let's say Amenti is alive, what good does that do us? We have the golem running around and no idea how to stop it," Piper said.

"We stop it by vanquishing its master," Leo said.

"Leo, that's one of us," Piper said.

"Not necessarily. One of us may have been used to create the golem, but none of us have the power to control it. If Amenti did send the golem, then it probably has something to do with love. If we can either get Amenti to drain the love, the golem should die. Or we could vanquish Amenti," Leo suggested.

Piper was about to say something when she heard the sound of Flaming behind her. She turned around and saw Amenti, with a snarl on his face. "Let's try the eating part," he growled. Amenti threw a fireball at Leo. It hit, and Leo was sent flying into a stack of chairs. Amenti telekinetically held all of the sisters down on the ground. He snapped his fingers and the pink golem appeared next to him.

"This golem was created by the love you sisters share. The Power of Three is only as strong as your bond. The golem's strength comes from your bond as sisters. As long as you love each other, this golem cannot be vanquished by the likes of you!" Amenti held out his left hand. The hand began to glow. Pink energy started flowing from the three sisters and into Amenti's hand. Amenti felt himself increase in power exponentially. The golem faded into oblivion. The energy stopped coming from the sisters and they looked drained and weakened.

Cole tackled Amenti to the ground. Amenti telekinetically threw Cole on the ground next to Phoebe. "Cole!" she shouted.

"Your love is incredibly strong. Of course, it would have to be in order to suppress Belthazor," Amenti said. Amenti held out his hand and drained Cole's and Phoebe's love for each other. When they were empty, Cole collapsed, unconscious. Phoebe remained awake.

Amenti was once again tackled to the ground, this time by Leo. Amenti physically threw Leo on the ground next to Piper. He started draining their love, and the love Leo had for his sisters-in-law. Amenti felt his power grow exponentially again. He was unstoppable.

Amenti had drained so much love that his appearance began to change. His eyes started glowing red and he grew in size. He snapped his fingers and sent the Charmed Ones flying. He conjured a massive fireball that radiated heat and power. Amenti conjured an energy ball in his other hand that radiated power and messed with some of the electrical appliances. He threw the two together and threw the ball at Cole.

The ball erupted in a blast of fire and electricity. When the smoke and light faded, Cole was still alive. Standing in front of him, having taken the hit from Amenti's attack, was Jerome. Amenti roared in rage and threw a serious of fireballs at Jerome. Each one disintegrated Jerome's body, but each time he regenerated. Amenti roared and threw a fireball at Piper. Jerome leapt in the way and took the hit. He tried again with Phoebe. Again, Jerome blocked it. "How do you survive those attacks?" Amenti asked. His voice, normally deep but smooth, was now deep, raspy, and aggressive. "I have more power than the Source himself!"

"Your power is nothing compared to mine," Jerome said.

Jerome turned to Phoebe. "Do you still have the spell to vanquish Amenti?"

Phoebe nodded. "Good. I'll hold him off as long as I can, you and your sisters read the spell. Quickly!" Phoebe crawled towards Piper to get her. Jerome watched her. She really didn't have her heart in it. She was just doing it out of obedience.

Jerome turned to Amenti. "Come on, Love Eater, let's dance," Jerome said.

Amenti began laughing in a deep, throaty laugh. "Neither you nor I have the power to vanquish the other. You powers will not work on me, and you regenerate from nothing," he said.

"We'll see," Jerome said. Jerome drew his sword and lunged at Amenti. He swung the sword at Amenti's neck. The blade bounced off.

"I have drained so much love, so much power, my skin has become impenetrable," Amenti said. Amenti grabbed Jerome by the neck and threw him against the wall. Jerome slumped to the floor, still conscious, but extremely uncomfortable.

Amenti turned towards the sisters who were reading the spell. "Demon who feeds on love, let the powers above take from you your strength and might, and destroy you with that love and light!" the chanted. Nothing happened. Amenti laughed.

"You think your pathetic spell can hurt me like this? You Power of Three is gone, drained. I have a Cupid's Ring! I'm invincible!" he roared. Amenti threw a fireball at the Charmed Ones. It hit and sent the flying. They all hit the wall and slumped to the floor, each one burned, bloodied, and barely alive.

Jerome howled in anger. He sent a blast of telekinetic energy at Amenti in anger. To his great surprise, it sent Amenti flying. Amenti stood up and looked at Jerome with a look of pure shock on his face. "How is this possible? I'm too powerful to be affected by any powers!" Amenti shouted in confusion.

Jerome didn't bother replying. He astral projected several copies of himself. One of the copies went to try to heal the sisters. Somehow, the copy had enough power to heal them. Jerome expected to feel a sudden loss of energy, but felt no such drain. He yelled at the sisters to keep chanting the spell while he weakened Amenti as much as he could.

Jerome and two copies went to battle Amenti. Amenti looked at the three of them, and nearly felt a flash of fear, He quickly squashed it down. He had enough power to destroy the Source, what threat could this man be? One of the astral clones telekinetically blasted Amenti into the wall of P3. Amenti flew straight through the wall. Jerome heard the sisters chanting in the background. Amenti threw a fireball at one of the astral clones. The astral clone faded from existence. Jerome and the other clone telekinetically threw Amenti against the floor. The force of the impact was enough to create a massive hole in the floor. Jerome and his clone held Amenti down. Amenti used his own telekinesis to blast Jerome and the clone away, freeing him. Amenti threw an energy ball at the last astral clone, leaving only Jerome. "Tell me, how do you have such power?" Amenti asked.

Jerome looked at Paige and her sisters and said "Witches aren't the only ones who's powers come from emotions." Jerome then telekinetically blasted Amenti through the back wall. The impact tore off the entire wall. Amenti Flamed behind Jerome and kicked him in the spine. Jerome was sent sprawling onto the floor. Amenti turned and looked at the Charmed Ones. They finished chanting the spell and Amenti felt pain. Amenti looked at Jerome, panicked. His battle with Jerome had weakened him quite a bit. Amenti threw a fireball at the Charmed One in the middle, which happened to be Paige. Jerome saw the fireball head towards Paige. "No!" Jerome shouted. He blasted lightning from his fingertips at the fireball. It was instantly destroyed. Jerome looked at his hand. He felt no sudden drain from that power, either. Jerome blasted Amenti with lightning, using all his power. The lightning was so intense that it illuminated the entire room, and most of the rest of the city saw at least some of the light. Jerome stopped and saw Amenti on the ground, sizzling and beaten but clearly not vanquished. Jerome saw Amenti's ring glowing brightly. Jerome telekinetically Orbed the ring from Amenti's hand and into his own. The sisters finished their spell again, but it still had no affect.

"I'm still too powerful to be vanquished by their loveless Power of Three," Amenti groaned.

Jerome started chanting. "Power of the witches rise, let soar beyond the skies, this demon drained their strength by plenty, restore it and multiply it by twenty!" Jerome said. Amenti started to glow. Pink energy began flowing from him into the Charmed Ones. The energy finished flowing, then the sisters started glowing in a bright, golden light.

"Demon who feeds on love, let the powers above take from you your strength and might, and destroy you with that love and light!" the sisters chanted. Amenti started glowing pink. His heart glowed the brightest. A small fire erupted from his heart, and quickly consumed him.

As Amenti was burning he shouted out "I'll be back! As long as there is love in the world, I will return!" Amenti exploded into a burst of smoke.

Everyone in the room except Jerome glowed pink briefly. The glow faded. Leo and Cole turned to their respective loves and embraced them. "Come on," Jerome said. "We still have his Love Pool to deal with."

Jerome Orbed everyone to Amenti's lair. He pointed Phoebe and Cole to the chained cupid while he directed Piper to blow up the Love Pool. The Love Pool shattered, spilling its contents on the ground. "Amenti will return wherever the Love Poll is, even if the Pool is just shattered remains," Jerome said. Jerome telekinetically forced the Love Pool into the ground. He forced it deeper and deeper until eventually it broke through the crust and into the mantle. The pink fluid of the Love Pool evaporated and dissolved. Jerome glowed and when it faded he felt like he normally did; not emotional.

"Must have been a potion," Jerome muttered under his breath.

Jerome turned to the Charmed Ones and said "I'll leave you alone from now on. I killed Prue, and I deserve to be exiled from you."

Paige tried to stop him, but Jerome Flashed away before she had the chance.

* * *

Far, far away in the Garden where the Defenders lived the Council was discussing Jerome. They were completely focused on preventing the Destroyer from returning, until they sensed the raw power from P3. It was Jerome's lighting. "How does he have that power? Did anyone give that back to him?" Marthis yelled.

"It seems the Love Eater has infected him with a potion that amplifies and forces emotions to surface. These emotions have become so strong that it gave him the power to bypass our spell. Once the potion wears off he should return to having his powers sealed away," Daniel said.

"He better," Marthis said threateningly.

Marthis showed signs of wanting to watch Jerome, but Benjamin intervened. "Marthis, we have far more pressing matters to attend to than my brother," he said.

Marthis growled. "Very well," he said.

Author's Note:

That was one long chapter, but the Love Eater is finally vanquished. It seems that when Jerome feels a strong enough emotion he can break through the barrier the Council put on him. So, please leave a review telling me what you liked, didn't like, and anything and everything else you want to tell me about this story. Especially ideas for future chapters. Those are very, very nice reviews.


	36. Chapter 36

I'm considering ending this story in the next couple of chapters. It's already pretty long. Don't worry; ending this story doesn't necessarily mean the actual story is over, it just means I'll be writing a sequel to it. I'm pretty much out of ideas in season four. The sequel would take place in season five, probably near the end of the season. Like right before the Titans. If anyone wants more for this story, then I need more season four ideas. I'm out, but if someone else will supply them, I'd be more than happy to write them. If I get nothing, that's what you'll get from this story and you'll have to look for the sequel. I promise the sequel will be released within a few weeks of this story ending. So, unless there are any ideas to give me, the next chapter or two will be it for this story.

Chapter 36:

Jerome returned to his old cave. It was still a pile of rubble from when he had destroyed that demon. Jerome used his telekinesis to reshape it and had an astral clone bring some tar from the tar pits to hold it together. It worked well enough. The cave smelled horrible, but Jerome knew that the odor would eventually fade away.

Jerome thought about the potion he must have been force fed. It must have amplified his emotions to a terrifyingly high degree. Jerome had tried blasting lightning since the battle with the Love Eater, but it drained him like it did before. His powers were sealed once again. Why had he saved the sisters? Why had he fought so hard to protect them? They hated him, scorned him, exiled him, and yet he still gave everything he had into fending off Amenti so the sisters could vanquish him. Why? If he had allowed Amenti to kill the sisters then he would have full access to the Power of Three. He could restore his powers and overthrow the Council. He would have had the power to do everything he had dreamed of doing since the Power of Three prophecy. But he didn't. He instead risked everything he could to protect the Power of Three. He even chanted a spell to temporarily multiply their power by twenty. Why? The potion had drawn out his emotions and amplified them; it didn't create any new ones. He must have had some desire to protect them, actually protect them, rather than regain his powers, or he wouldn't have felt the need to risk himself like that. What could possibly be the reason for that? Why did he care?

* * *

The sisters at the time were taking care of the cupid Amenti had captured. "What's your name?" Phoebe asked him when he finally woke up.

"Coop," he replied.

"How are you feeling?" Paige asked.

"Am I out of that monster's lair?" Coop asked.

Piper nodded. "Then I feel fine. Do any of you have my ring?" Coop asked.

Phoebe stuck her hand in her coat pocket. "Yeah, I have it here," she said.

Piper looked at Phoebe. "Where did you get that?" she asked.

"I think Jerome dropped it and I guess I picked it up," Phoebe replied.

"That doesn't sound very certain," Piper said.

"Well, we had just been attacked by the single most powerful demon we have ever faced, forgive me if I was a bit dazed," Phoebe snapped.

Phoebe found the ring and handed it to Coop. He put the ring on. "Thanks," he said. "Before I go, can I get some water?"

"Sure, I'll go get you some," Piper said. Piper walked into the kitchen, poured several glasses of water, put them on a tray, and started carrying the tray into the living room. She made it about two feet before the tray fell to the floor.

Phoebe heard the crash and heard Piper yell in frustration. "What happened?" Phoebe shouted.

"My hand just phased through the tray," Piper yelled back. "Paige, could you come help me clean this up?"

For whatever reason (not even Paige knew why, but Phoebe thought it was because Coop was extremely attractive), Paige felt torn by the request. Paige collapsed onto the floor and Phoebe heard Piper scream. "What's wrong?" Phoebe asked.

"Paige, please don't do that!" Piper shouted.

"I can't exactly control it, now, can I?" Paige said from the kitchen.

Phoebe, confused, walked into the kitchen and saw Paige's face in the puddle that was on the kitchen floor. "Oh, Paige, you astral projected into the puddle," Phoebe said.

"Thanks for the notice, Pheebs," Piper said.

"Could you please just get me back into my own body?" Paige asked.

"Alright," Piper said. Piper blew up the puddle, ejecting Paige back to her own body and splashing water all over the kitchen.

Paige started, feeling wet and very loose. She got up off the floor and looked at Coop. "Sorry about that, we just got new powers and haven't learned to control them yet," she explained.

"So, maybe I should just go. I'm sure I can get water somewhere else," Coop said. He waved and Beamed out of the manor.

* * *

Steve was kneeling before the Source, pleading for his life. "Please, Amenti was hasty and rash. He took too great a risk, and there was nothing I could do to stop him. Please, don't kill me," he begged.

The Source looked at Steve for a while. "Your loyalty has proven very useful. I don't have any other demons that are as blindly loyal to me as you. You loyalty has spared you, for now. However, fail me again and you will be destroyed," he said.

"Yes, my liege. Thank you, my liege," Steve said.

"Now, begone from my sight!" the Source commanded. Steve bowed and Shimmered away.

Author's Note:

I know this was a short chapter, but like I said before, I have no more ideas for season four. This story was meant to be in season four, so moving into seasons five and six would belong in a different story, like a sequel. I won't post anything for a while (meaning at least four days) without any ideas. If I don't get any I'll write one final chapter and end this story, and start working on the sequel. Any ideas please leave me in the form of a review, and since this will likely be one of the last few chapters I post, feel free to leave any comments on the story and how it's been.


	37. Chapter 37

Well, this is the last chapter of this story. Don't worry; there will be a sequel, and soon. The reason I'm making the sequel rather than continuing on with this one is because this story was meant to be in season four, and my plans for furthering the plot require it to move into seasons five and six. The other major reason is because the file size of the story is getting pretty large and I prefer to work with smaller files. Well, here's the final chapter of The Greatest Power.

Chapter 37:

Paige was calling for Jerome. She wanted to thank him for saving their lives and helping to defeat Amenti. By helping vanquish Amenti Jerome had saved tons of love and thousands of lives, including the lives of the Charmed Ones. Paige hadn't discussed it with her sisters, but she figured they would have to admit that Jerome's actions with Amenti more than made up for killing Prue. She figured she could convince Piper and Phoebe to let Jerome back into their lives. Maybe he wouldn't be allowed to stay in their house, but he could at least help them and gain some of his powers back.

"Jerome! Come on, I know you can hear me, get over here!" Paige yelled.

Jerome Flickered behind her and said "You called?"

Paige jumped; Flickering was a silent form of teleportation, so she hadn't heard Jerome until he spoke. "I just wanted to say, thank you for helping us with Amenti. We owe you our lives," she said.

"You don't owe me anything. I ruined your lives by killing your sister. Saving them was the least I could do to make amends," Jerome said.

"You didn't ruin our lives. I don't mean to sound selfish or heartless, but if Prue hadn't died I would never have been united with my sisters, and I would never have become a witch," Paige said.

"I still ruined your sisters' lives," Jerome said.

"I doubt they think that anymore. If I talked to them I'm sure they would be more than happy to let you help us, like you were sent to do," Paige said.

"No. I'm not going to come back," Jerome said.

"Why not?" Paige asked.

"There are certain... things that I need to look into. You won't see or hear from me until you need me," Jerome replied.

"We need you now," Paige said.

"No. You don't need me. Your bond as sisters is strong. You will be perfectly fine without me, for now," Jerome said cryptically.

"Wait, what do you mean for now?" Paige asked.

"Goodbye, Paige," Jerome said. Jerome Orbed away, leaving Paige confused and sad.

"Goodbye," Paige whispered.

Piper, Leo, Cole, and Phoebe came into the attic a few minutes later. "Paige, there you are," Phoebe said.

"Oh, hey," Paige replied.

"Listen, Paige, we've been talking, and we were thinking that Jerome has more than made up for killing Prue. We're willing to let him come back," Piper said.

"After all, he saved our lives and the lives of countless future innocents," Phoebe said.

"Both I and the Elders agree that he can be trusted, now. He put everything he had into defending you," Leo said.

Paige looked at them, her expression getting sadder and sadder. "He was just here. I told him that you would probably let him come back, but it didn't matter. He still left. He's gone," Paige said, tears welling up in her eyes.

Piper and Phoebe hugged Paige to comfort her. After everything Jerome had done for them, they were pretty sad, too. Even Phoebe, who hadn't trusted Jerome since the day they first met him. Cole and Leo, too, were sad that Jerome was gone. All they had were his last words. "You will be perfectly fine without me, for now." What did he mean by for now? Was there an evil so powerful that they wouldn't be able to defeat it without him? If so, when was it coming?

Confectrix, the destroyer; Evorsor, the obliterator; Segregatio, the elimination; Finis, the end; and Temeravit, the desecration; and Segravit, the name He used last time he broke free. All of these names He had used upon breaking free. Now, however, was a new time. A new language. A new world. His new name would be Excisio. He was destruction, obliteration, ruin! He was close, so close to breaking free. The bonds that held him were growing weaker and weaker. Soon, they would be weak enough that He would be able to destroy them and break free once again. The power of the obelisk was weakening, His chains were loosening, and He was so close to freedom. Not even the interference of the Defenders of the Grand Design could stop His escape. His escape was imminent.

Author's Note:

This is the final chapter of this story, as I mentioned earlier. Yeah, I know it's extremely short, but all it's meant to do is tie a loose end or two and give me a chance to tell you this: the next story will be called Jerome's Return, and it will be posted in the next few days. Keep an eye out for it and feel free to leave a review with ideas for the next story and anything else you'd like to leave in a review.


End file.
